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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



THE RIGHTS AND DUTIES 



OF 



AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP 



BY 

WESTEL WOODBURY WILLOUGHBY, Ph.D. 

ASSOCIATE IN POLITICAL SCIENCE AT THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY 

AUTHOR OF "the NATURE OF THE STATE : A STUDY IN POLITICAL 

PHILOSOPHY," " GOVERNMENT AND ADMINISTRATION IN THE 

UNITED STATES," " THE SUPREME COURT: ITS 

CONSTITUTIONAL RELATIONS," ETC. 



J^^C 



NEW YORK • : • CINCINNATI • : • CHICAGO 

AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY 






18445 



Copyright, 1898, by 
WESTEL WOODBURY WILLOUGHBY. 



AMER. CITIZENSHIP. 

w. p. I 




5^?5nCOPIESBECEIVtD. 



2nd COPY, 
1893. 



PREFACE 

The purpose of the present work is to present to 
American youths practical information as to the rights 
and duties which attach to American citizenship. In 
the effort to do this in the clearest and most logical 
form, the stereotyped method of giving a running com- 
mentary upon the Constitution has been discarded. 

Of all political forms, the federal type is the most 
complex; and it is, therefore, little short of absurd to 
attempt, as do so many text-books on Civics, to explain 
to students who are without previous training the con- 
stitutional relations of our elaborate system of national, 
state, and local governments, without first giving to 
them a knowledge of the nature of political authority, 
the purposes for which it exists, and the' general gov- 
ernmental means through which such purposes are 
attained. In the present work it is believed that this 
error has been avoided. The student is first given that 
information which is essential to an understanding of 
citizenship and government in general, before he is 
called upon to study the description of our own com- 
plex government in particular. 

This book is therefore divided into two parts. The 
first is devoted to a general introduction. *to Political 

3 . ' 



4 PREFACE 

Science ; the second, to a description of Civil Govern- 
ment in the United States. 

Throughout, the effort has been to render the work 
thoroughly practical in character. Constant care has 
been taken to give the reasons as well as the justifi- 
cation for each power described, to introduce at every 
possible point a description of the practical problems 
involved and the solutions proposed for them, and to 
inculcate in every way the moral obligations of good 
citizenship. A knowledge of how one's government is 
organized and administered has everywhere been treated 
as a means and not an end, ■ — a means through which 
the citizen may be enabled fully to appreciate the politi- 
cal problems by which he is surrounded, and inclined 
to lend his assistance to a proper solution of them. 
Guided by this principle, it is hoped that there has been 
produced a book which will both enable and predispose 
the student willingly to assume, and intelligently to 
meet, the responsibilities of American citizenship. 

W. W. W. 



CONTENTS 

PART I 

INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE 
CHAPTER I 

PAGE 

Society n 

Introductory Ii 

The Family 14 

The Tribe and Nation l6 

Foreign Immigration . . . . . > , . 17 

CHAPTER II 

The State 20 

Definition . 20 

The Rightfulness of the State's Authority 21 

Origin of the State 23 

Patriotism 23 

Development of the State 24 

Citizenship 26 

Naturalization 28 

CHAPTER III 

Suffrage » , c 30 

Suffrage a Privilege, not a Right ...... 30 

Woman Suffrage » . 31 

Exercise of the Suffrage a Duty 2>Z 

The Australian Ballot 34 

Corrupt Practices Acts 35 

CHAPTER IV 

International Relations 37 

International Law 37 

Arbitration . 4I 

5 



6 CONTENTS 

PAGE 

The Diplomatic Service . . . . . . . .42 

Consular Service 43 

CHAPTER V 

Government 44 

Its Functions 44 

Legislative, Judicial, and Executive Functions .... 44 

Essential Duties 46 

Law and Liberty 50 

Non-essential Functions . -5^ 

Conditions justifying Governmental Action • • • • 53 

Objections to Governmental Action .62 

Socialism and Communism 65 

CHAPTER VI 

Forms of Governments 67 

Introductory 67 

Monarchy 68 

Absolute Monarchy 68 

Limited Monarchy 69 

Aristocracy 71 

Democracy . . . . . . . . . -7^ 

Republic ........... 72 

Popular Government - • • 73 

Constitutional Government 79 

Checks and Balances in Government 81 

Constitutional Amendments 84 

CHAPTER VII 

Law 89 

Introductory c ... 89 

Public Law .......... 90 

Private Law 92 

Distinction between Law and Equity 92 

Judicial Procedure 94 

Criminal Law 98 

Law and Morality 99 

Criminal Responsibility loi 

Felonies and Misdemeanors 103 

Criminal Procedure 104 

Extradition .......... 109 

Constitutional Guaranties no 

Punishment : Motives for, and Justification of . . . .111 



CONTENTS 7 

PART II 

CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES 
CHAPTER I 

PAGE 

Historical Introduction 117 

Steps leading to the Adoption of the Constitution . . .119 

The Stamp Act Congress 122 

The First Continental Congress 122 

The Second Continental Congress 122 

The Articles of Confederation 1 23 

Elements tending to Separation and to Union . . . .124 
Scheme of Government under the Articles . . . .124 

Defects of the Articles 125 

Adoption of the Constitution 126 

The Constitutional Convention 128 

Arguments for and against Adoption 1 31 

CHAFl^ER II 

The Distribution of Government Powers in the United 

States 135 

Distribution of Powers 135 

CHAPTER III 

Introduction to the Study of Political Parties in the 

United States 141 

CHAPTER IV 

Congress: Its Organization . . - 159 

House of Representatives 160 

Proportional and Minority Representation . . . .164 

The Senate 166 

Election of Senators 167 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER V 

PAGE 

Congress in Operation 173 

Committee Government 174 

Amount of Work Done ........ 177 

Control of Debate 178 

Filibustering 180 

Caucus 181 

Executive Duties of the Senate 182 

Impeachments . . . 184 

Problems connected with Congressional Legislation . . -185 

CHAPTER VI 

Powers of Congress 188 

Taxes, Loans, and Debts 188 

Foreign and Interstate Commerce 190 

Naturalization I go 

Bankruptcy . . . . . . . . . .191 

Coinage of Money ......... 191 

Post Offices . 191 

Copyrights and Patents 192 

Judicial Powers . . . . . . . . . .192 

Criminal Jurisdiction ......... 192 

War Powers ... = ...... 192 

Militia 193 

The District of Columbia 194 

The Territories . . . . . . . . . -195 

Admission of a Territory as a State ...... 197 

Implied Powers of Congress 198 

Limitations upon the Federal Power 198 

Citizenship in the United States . . . . . . 200 

Suffrage, Fifteenth Amendment ...... 203 



CHAPTER VII 

United States Executive: The President .... 204 

Election of the President and Vice President .... 204 

Presidential Succession 206 

Duties of the President 207 

The Civil Service . . . 209 

Civil Service Reform 212 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER VIII 

PAGE 

The Cabinet and Executive Departments .... 215 

Introductory 215 

The State Department 218 

The Treasury Department . 220 

The War Department 222 

The Navy Department ........ 224 

The Interior Department 224 

The Post Office Department 234 

The Department of Justice 235 

The Department of Agriculture 236 

The Department of Labor 237 

The Interstate Commerce Commission 238 

The Fish Commission 239 

The Civil Service Commission ....... 240 

The Government Printing Office 240 

The National Museum, etc 240 

The Library of Congress 241 



CHAPTER IX 

The Federal Judiciary 242 

Necessity for a Federal Judiciary ...... 242 

The Supreme Court ......... 244 

Inferior Federal Courts ........ 248 

District Courts 249 

Circuit Courts 249 

Circuit Court of Appeals 250 

Jurisdictions 250 

CHAPTER X 

State and Local Governments 253 

Functions of the States ........ 253 

State Governments 255 

State Constitutions 256 

State Legislatures 257 

State Executive 259 

State Judiciary 259 

Local Government 260 



lO CONTENTS 

PACK 

Local Government in New England 261 

Local Government in the South ...... 262 

Local Government in the West 263 

City Government 263 

Municipal Problems 266 

The Initiative and Referendum 267 

CHAPTER XI 

Government Revenue and Expenditure 271 

Federal Taxes 273 

State and Local Taxes 274 

Expenditures 275 

CHAPTER XII 

Money and Banking 281 

Functions of Money 281 

Paper Money 286 

Different Forms of United States Money 287 

Gold Coin, Bullion, and Certificates 288 

Silver Dollars and Silver Certificates 288 

Subsidiary and Minor Coins 289 

Treasury Notes 289 

Notes of National Banks 290 

Banking 292 

CHAPTER XIII 

Party Government and Machinery 297 

Why Parties are Formed . 297 

Benefits of Parties 298 

Functions of Parties 299 

Party Machinery 300 

Town and Township Party Organization 302 

Party Organization in Cities , 302 

Party Organization in the Counties 304 

State Party Organization 304 

Organization of National Parties 304 

National Conventions 305 

Method of Procedure 307 

Congressional Elections ........ 308 

Legislative Caucuses 309 



PART I 

INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE 
CHAPTER I 

SOCIETY 

Introductory. — The world over, and since civilization 
began, men and women have preferred to associate with 
one another, rather than to live solitary and independent 
lives. The feeling which impels them to do this is 
termed the social sentiment, and because of its univer- 
sality is considered to be natural to them. Controlled 
by this impulse, we find individuals at all times and in 
all places forming groups and communities of different 
kinds and sizes, within each of which the members feel 
themselves united by a special friendliness for one 
another. These groups or associations of men and 
women we term social units, and the living in them 
we term living in a state of society. 

In examining these social units as they exist among 
different peoples, it is found that the more civilized 
their members are, the greater sociability they exhibit, 
and, consequently, the closer they draw together in 
their common relations. The closer they draw together, 
the more interests they have in common, and the more 
necessary it becomes that the selfish desires of individ- 



12 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE 

uals should give way to, when they conflict with, the 
general interests of the community at large. 

While, however, there is in human nature itself this 
social instinct which causes men to derive pleasure from 
a fellowship with one another, there are other elements 
equally natural, though not equally praiseworthy, which 
tend to counteract and render impossible the realization 
of this sentiment. These are the selfish instincts, which, 
if unrestrained, urge men to seek their own ends with- 
out reference to the welfare of others, and cause them 
to commit acts of violence against those who interfere 
in any way with their own desires. 

Thus it is that the higher social feelings, which in- 
volve the elements of friendliness, sympathy, mutual aid, 
and self-restraint, are ever warring against the lower and 
selfish desires, which involve cruelty, hate, violence, and 
common misery. The perfect social condition is one 
in which proper desires — such as are beneficial to the 
individual and do not conflict with the common welfare 
— are permitted and protected, while all others are re- 
strained and suppressed. 

The absolute reign of the selfish instincts would lead 
almost immediately to common destruction. Every 
man's hand would be against his neighbor, universal 
suspicion and hatred would prevail, cooperation even 
in the simplest matters would be impossible, and con- 
tinual warfare would result. That such a condition of 
Hfe would be intolerable is apparent even to the most 
savage of races, and hence it is that no matter how 
far back we go in the history of the world, or how 
low we descend in the scale of civilization, we still find 



SOCIETY 13 

men voluntarily grouping themselves into clans, tribes, 
and nations for the purpose of securing peace and 
cooperation among themselves and protection against 
outside enemies. 

At first, in the very lowest stages of civilization, this 
idea of securing peace is almost the sole '' social " or 
public aim sought by these associations, and even this 
aim is very imperfectly secured. Gradually, however, 
as men grow accustomed to living with one another, 
and as their ideas of right and wrong become more 
developed, not only are their sympathetic feelings inten- 
sified, each of them thus being made to feel more and 
more kindly disposed toward the others, but each sees 
that it is to his own individual advantage that peace 
should be maintained, and that other interests as well 
should be secured through their common or social effort. 

Examples of such other interests are the protection 
of certain kinds of property, the making and enforce- 
ment of at least some general rules regarding hunting, 
the grazing of flocks, and the cultivation of land. 
Later, as civilization develops, one by one new needs 
are recognized and new duties laid upon society, until, 
as among the advanced nations of the present day, 
the number of interests which are regarded as of a 
social or general nature becomes almost countless. 

The important point to be recognized in this connec- 
tion is that the many benefits which a civilized social 
life confers upon us can be obtained only by the subor- 
dination, to some extent, of our individual desires to 
the general good. As a condition of, and in exchange 
for, the benefits which one derives from a civilized so- 



14 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE 

cial life, not only should cheerful obedience be yielded 
to those social regulations which are necessary, but 
an active personal interest should be taken in public 
affairs. Aside from every consideration of sympathy 
and of religious duty to one's fellow men, it is but a fair 
return to society that each individual should make the 
common welfare an object always to be considered in 
his conduct. This he can do by obeying all laws, by 
faithfully performing his contracts, by refraining from 
violating those rights in others, which he thinks others 
should respect in him, and, if necessary, by actually 
participating in matters of public importance. 

It is because of these duties that this book is written. 
The purpose of the following pages is to give such in- 
formation as will enable the student to understand the 
actual problems upon which he is or will be called, as 
a member of society, to pass an intelligent opinion. 
The knowledge of how one's government is organized 
and operated is, therefore, not an end in itself. It is 
but the means whereby one becomes qualified to under- 
stand and assist in solving the problems that surround 
its practical and efficient operation. In truth, not only 
are tliose who are actually in the employ of a govern- 
ment its officials, but citizenship itself is an office. 
Every citizen owes it to himself, as well as to his fellow 
men, to render himself qualified to perform properly 
the duties which attach to such office. 

The Family. — Aside from the largest society in 
which we live, — the state, — there are other and 
smaller social units. The smallest, most intimate, and 
most natural of all these smaller groups is the family, 



SOCIETY 1 5 

Even among the most uncivilized and cruel of savages, 
— nay, even among the lower animals, — a certain com- 
munity of interests and mutual sympathy ex^st between 
the parents and offspring. As civilization develops, 
these family groups among men still retain their exis- 
tence, although surrounded by and incorporated in the 
larger social groups which are formed ; and the bonds 
which unite their members become deeper, stronger, 
and broader. Not only is the family the first, the most 
abiding, and the most intimate of all social unions, but, 
in a very true sense, it is the most important. For it is 
not too much to say that without it none of the larger 
social groups, such as the tribe and the nation, could be 
successfully organized, or, if organized, successfully 
maintained. 

The family is the school of all the virtues. Within 
its circle is first awakened the spirit of obedience, love, 
self-sacrifice, and proper ambition. If a man be a good 
husband or father or son, it is safe to say that he will 
be a good citizen. Investigations of the home con- 
ditions of criminals give overwhelming proof of the 
enormous influence which the family life has upon the 
careers of its members. It is, therefore, or should be, 
the first effort of the church, as well as of the state, 
zealously to guard against any influences which will 
tend to render family life less perfect. Hence we can 
see the importance of the question of divorce. It is not 
a matter wholly between husband and wife, but is one 
to be considered both in reference to the children, and 
to society at large. In these days it is generally recog- 
nized that in certain cases, at least, a dissolution of the 



1 6 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE 

marriage tie should be permitted. But these cases 
should be so strictly defined and limited that the family- 
tie shall not be loosened nor the marital bonds made so 
weak as to be easily severed at the whim or caprice of 
the parties united by them. 

The Tribe and Nation. — Next to the family, in size, 
as well as in historical development, is the tribe. 

This is the stage of social development attained by 
most of the savage races of to-day. The members of 
these groups, though often very numerous, in most 
cases believe themselves to be more or less closely 
related by blood, by adoption, or by marriage. In 
practically all cases they are of the same race. Tribal 
life is very well exhibited by the native Indian races of 
our own country. 

The next stage of development brings us to the 
nation. By this term is designated a larger group of 
men who feel a greater sympathy and friendliness for 
one another than they do for others, and who therefore 
desire that they should constitute one people, and be 
united under one political control. Identity of race is 
usually the chief factor which gives rise to this feeling 
of nationality, but it is not always present. For ex- 
ample, the Swiss nation is composed of Germans, 
Frenchmen, and Italians ; and, indeed, our own nation 
contains millions of individuals descended from different 
European races. Among other influences which co- 
operate with identity of race in creating a national 
feeling are, a common history glorified by common 
traditions and renown, sameness of religion, of customs, 
of language, and of commercial interests. All, or only 



SOCIETY 1/ 

some, of these influences may be present, but the essen- 
tial condition for the existence of a nation is the feeling 
among the people of a greater friendliness for one 
another than for outsiders, and a desire for a common 
united life under the same government. Whatever 
other conditions may exist, this feeling can prevail 
among a given people only when they have tastes and 
ideas sufficiently similar to allow them to cooperate with 
one another and to be in substantial agreement as to 
the character of political control which they desire. 

Foreign Immigration. — In our own country the prob- 
lem of immigration has a very serious significance in 
connection with this subject. We are glad to receive 
competent and honest immigrants, from whatever quar- 
ter they may come ; but it is an evil to have landed 
upon our shores criminal and pauperized foreigners 
who have neither the capacity nor the disposition to 
conform to our ways of life and to our methods of gov- 
ernment, and who therefore form an element of danger 
and discord in our midst. As we have already said, 
there is necessary for any social cooperation, a feeling 
of common sympathy and a willingness to contribute 
to the general welfare and to abide by the proper 
restraints which civilized life places upon individual 
license and violence. It is therefore of vital importance 
that we should not receive elements within our midst 
which will tend not only themselves to produce discord, 
but to corrupt the habits of our own people. 

Already in our larger cities the foreign element con- 
stitutes the larger part of the population of the slums, 
and not only contributes largely to the crime and im- 

WIL, AM. CIT. — 2 



1 8 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE 

morality of the country, but also corrupts our politics 
by providing a reservoir of votes which may be freely 
bought and sold by the unscrupulous politician. Not 
only does the existence of an improper foreign element 
corrupt politics, but it introduces undesirable features 
into our social and industrial life. Thus, for a single 
example, one of the chief objections raised in the West 
against the immigration of the Chinese is, that so low is 
their plane of life that they either deprive of work the 
American laborer who is accustomed to more of the 
decencies of life, or drive him by their competition to 
habits of life lower than those to which he is or should 
be willing to accustom himself. 

The correction of immigration evils lies in the pas- 
sage of stringent laws preventing the landing of any 
foreigners except those who, by their education, train- 
ing, or the possession of a certain amount of wealth, 
give reasonable promise of becoming acceptable citi- 
zens. There is a very general belief that many of the 
foreign governments, if they do not actually assist, yet 
connive at the immigration to our shores of their crimi- 
nal classes. It goes without saying that admission to 
our country should be refused to such foreigners. As 
regards the corruption of our politics, the most feasible 
correction by law is to make the right of voting depend- 
ent either upon a certain educational or a property quali- 
fication, or both, and to require a much longer residence 
in this country than is now usually demanded. Such 
laws would have been enacted long ago but for the fact 
that every political party, when in power, is so anxious 
to keep or to increase its votes, that it is unwilling 



SOCIETY 19 

to pass any law that will antagonize its foreign con- 
stituents. 

Another fact which in some parts of our country gives 
rise to serious problems in connection with our nation- 
ality, is the existence of our negro population. The 
presence of this large negro element in the South is a 
fact which cannot now be altered, and which must be 
dealt with as best it may. In this, as in the case of 
other foreign elements already in our midst, the most 
efficient corrective undoubtedly lies in providing proper 
educational facilities. 

It is not to be understood, it is repeated, that the 
presence among us of foreign-born subjects is in itself 
objectionable, for among such are to be found many, of 
our very best citizens. What has been said in regard 
to the evils of unrestricted immigration applies solely 
to certain of the lower classes. The coming to us of 
the better classes of foreigners is a source of increase 
in our wealth as a people and in our power as a nation. 



CHAPTER II 

THE STATE 

Definition. — In our last chapter we spoke primarily 
of social units, and the social life of communities. We 
have now to speak of political bodies and political life. 
It is common to distinguish between the conception 
of men as politically organized, that is, as constituting 
what is called a body politic, and of the same com- 
munity of men as forming merely a group of individuals 
united by mutual industrial and social interests. A 
body of men so united, we term, as we have already 
learned, a society. Now, in order that the various 
social interests and aims may be protected and ad- 
vanced, it is necessary that a certain organization shall 
be created, and certain officials appointed who shall be 
recognized by all to have the authority and the right 
to issue commands that may be enforced. Such an 
organization we term a government; the officials who 
administer it we term a magistracy ; and the society in 
which such organization has been instituted we term 
a state or body politic. 

The state, or body politic, is thus the social body 
plus the political organization. It is society viewed 
from the politically organized standpoint. The com- 
mand which the public or political body utters is 

20 



THE STATE 21 

termed law, and the provisions by which the extent 
of the authority of government is determined and the 
manner in which such authority is to be exercised are 
collectively termed the constitution. 

The essential elements of a state are, therefore : 

1. A community of people socially and politically 
united. 

2. A political machinery termed a government and 
administered by a body of officials termed a magistracy. 

3. A body of rules or maxims, written (as in the 
United States) or unwritten (as in England), deter- 
mining the scope of the public authority and the man- 
ner of its exercise. 

Individually, we term the members of a state its 
citizens or subjects. Collectively, they are called the 
people. Government and state are frequently used 
as synonymous terms. They have, however, quite dif- 
ferent meanings. By government is designated, as we 
have seen, the organization of the state, the machinery 
through which its purposes are formulated and exe- 
cuted. Thus a state may, at different times of its 
history, have different forms of government, and still 
remain the same state. In fact, all states are continu- 
ally changing their forms of governmental organization 
in order to meet the new duties which a developing 
life imposes on them. 

The Rightfulness of the Staters Authority. — The 
rightfulness of the authority of the state is denied by 
those who term themselves Anarchists ; but their atti- 
tude is both incorrect and inconsistent. The ground 
upon which they base their denial of the justice of the 



22 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE 

control exercised over them by the poUtical authority 
is that they have a natural right to freedom. That is, 
they allege that they have a natural right to do as they 
please, unhindered by others. But if this were so, no 
man would have any security of person or property, or 
even a ground upon which to base a claim for security 
from interference by others. If every one had the 
right to do as he pleased, what right would any one 
have to object to another's interference with his free- 
dom, if the other wished to interfere ? 

It is, therefore, only the existence of a supreme 
political authority with the right to fix general rules 
of conduct which can be enforced upon all, that enables 
any one to say that he shall not be controlled as to 
this or that matter by any one else; that he shall be 
protected from theft and personal violence ; and that 
he shall have the right to demand the performance of 
agreements which others have made with him. Thus 
the state, so far from destroying freedom, is indispensa- 
ble for the existence of any freedom. All that nature 
gives to man is brute strength, and in a "state of 
nature," that is, where there is no state, all that he 
could enjoy would be that which he would be able to 
obtain either by his physical strength or by persuasion 
from others. Some governmental control is, therefore, 
an absolute necessity if there is to be any civilization 
whatever. But to just what extent this control shall 
go, beyond the mere prevention of crime and violence, 
is a question which we shall consider in another chapter, 
which will be devoted to a description of the duties of 
government. 



THE STATE 23 

Origin of the State. — Concerning the absolute his- 
torical origin of political authority among men, history 
does not afford definite information, for the fact is that 
the first subjection of man to some rude sort of political 
control was almost necessarily coeval with the begin- 
nings of his social life, and this carries us back to 
periods of human development earlier than those con- 
cerning which we have any historical information. With 
the association of man with his kind, arise by necessity 
common or social interests. These interests not being 
in all cases identical with individual interests, and self- 
ishness being a universal trait of mankind, there arose 
early in the history of society the necessity for some 
means whereby the common welfare might be protected. 

Patriotism. — In addition to the task of preserving in- 
ternal order there existed also, from the beginning, the 
need of maintaining the freedom of each political group 
from control and interference by other groups ; in short, 
the necessity for the creation of means for common 
defense and offense in war. With social life, and, to 
some extent, the existence of common possessions, there 
naturally arises in the mind of each individual, even in 
the very earliest stages of political development, a feel- 
ing of interest in the welfare and continued existence 
of the particular social and political unit of which he is 
a member. 

This feeling, which is termed patriotism, becomes, 
or should become, stronger and stronger as the higher 
stages of a civilized life are reached. It is this senti- 
ment which, grounded as it is upon the consciousness 
on the part of the citizens of the state that they consti- 



24 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE 

tute one people, makes them feel that in all that relates 
to their public political life they have the same interests, 
and that each and every one of them may justly feel 
proud of the achievements which they as a whole have 
made in the past. It is this sentiment which should 
make every one ready to spring to the defense of his 
own state when it is threatened by any outside force, 
and willing to assist when its prosperity is in danger 
from evils or corruptions from within. 

Development of the State. — We may conceive of 
tribes of men without any fixed abode as politically 
organized, if they yield an habitual obedience to some 
recognized chief. As soon, however, as they become 
settled upon definite areas of land, the territorial ele- 
ment becomes an essential part of their life. The state 
then becomes a people politically organized in a partic- 
ular territory, and the bonds of kinship and tribal rela- 
tions become strengthened by geographical unity. With 
the cultivation of land the duties of government neces- 
sarily widen. With the growth of private property 
and the increase of industrial pursuits and manufac- 
tures, the necessity for protection and regulation on 
the part of the state is correspondingly increased. 

Thus by equal steps, as civilization increases, social 
interests become greater, and, by necessity, the govern- 
ing powers more elaborately organized and endowed 
with more extensive authority. Together with this 
increasing complexity of social and political relations 
comes an increasing definiteness. That is, the powers 
of government which are at first vague and indefinite 
both as to extent and manner of exercise, become 



THE STATE 25 

strictly determined, and their scope and exercise more 
and more regulated by customs that have crystallized 
into fixed rules, — rules which, as we have learned, are 
collectively termed a constitution, and which, in these 
days, are usually reduced to writing and formally 
adopted by the people with great solemnity. 

For purposes of illustration we may compare the 
development of animal life with that of political institu- 
tions. The naturalist tells us that the lowest orders of 
living beings consist of mere specks of almost struc- 
tureless matter, which they term protoplasm, and in 
which the most powerful microscope is scarcely able to 
discover that one part differs from another. But, as we 
rise in the scale of animal life, the organism becomes 
more and more definitely and delicately constructed, 
and its intelligence and self-consciousness greater and 
greater, until at last we come to the highest of all living 
beings, — man himself. At the same time that this 
elaboration of structure has proceeded, varying influ- 
ences and conditions of life have caused individuals to 
differ from one another until the number of classes, 
genera, and species has grown to be almost innumer- 
able. 

The development of political society is characterized 
by the same features. With the advance of civilization, 
come increased social needs and activities. The gov- 
ernmental organization of the state becomes a more 
complex structure, and is endowed with wider, and, at 
the same time, more definite powers. Also the exer- 
cise of these powers becomes more intelligently con- 
trolled, and, in a sense, self-directed, that is, dictated 



26 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE 

rather by the interests of the state itself than by the 
personal interests of the individuals to whom the 
exercise of the state's powers happens to be intrusted. 
Likewise states, which in their early stages have sub- 
stantial similarity of governmental organization, assume 
in the course of their development, diverging forms. 
Geographic, ethnic, economic, and moral conditions all 
have their influence in determining the direction in 
which the development of political forms shall proceed. 
Distinctions arise as to the number of interests to be 
regulated by the state, as to whether the people shall 
generally participate either actively or by way of pop- 
ular control in the administration of their public affairs, 
and as to the manner in which the powers of the state 
shall be distributed among its several departments. 
Thus arise all varieties of government, from the des- 
potic oriental state to the democracy of the Swiss com- 
munes. Within each of these classes are also to be 
found members distinguished from one another by the 
greatest variety of internal organizations. These dif- 
ferent forms will be considered in a later chapter. 

Citizenship. — The people living under any govern- 
ment may be divided into two classes — citizens or sub- 
jects, and aliens. Citizen and subject are synonymous 
terms, though it is more usual among us to give the 
former name to one who lives under a free or republi- 
can form of government, like our own, and to reserve 
the latter term for one under the authority of a king 
or monarch. 

A citizen or subject is a member of the body politic, 
owes an obedience to its government, and enjoys the 



THE STATE 2/ 

full protection of its laws, and such rights of holding 
office and of voting as its constitution allows. 

An alien is a subject or citizen of a foreign state, 
residing in another state, where he is held to obedience 
to the laws, but enjoys only such rights as the state in 
which he resides sees fit to grant to him, as, for ex- 
ample, the right to acquire and own land, to vote, to 
hold office, etc. 

Judge Cooley, the eminent writer upon American 
Constitutional Law, states the distinction between an 
American citizen and an alien as follows : " A citizen, 
in the full acceptation of that term, may be said to be a 
member of the civil state, entitled to all its privileges. 
The principal differences between an alien and a citizen 
consist in these : the former when he resides in the 
country is there by sufferance only ; he cannot own real 
estate therein, and he cannot exercise political rights. 
But these differences do not always exist. The states 
of the Union recognize fully the rights of aliens to 
reside within their limits without hindrance, and in 
many states they are permitted freely to hold, convey, 
and transmit to their descendants real estate. No 
less than twelve of the states also permit aliens, after 
a short residence therein, and after declaring their 
intention to become citizens, to exercise the elective 
franchise. When an alien is thus given the privilege 
permanently to reside within a state, and to hold prop- 
erty of all kinds therein, and to exercise the privilege of 
suffrage, the distinction in right and privilege and im- 
munity between him and the citizen is not very plain." 
We may add to this, that though the respective rights 



28 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE 

and privileges of the two, under such a condition, are 
practically the same, there is this distinction, that in the 
case of the citizen such rights and privileges belong to 
him without express enactment, from the mere fact of 
his citizenship ; while those of the alien belong to him 
only when special laws have been passed to that effect. 

Naturalization. — An alien, by conforming to certain 
conditions laid down by the United States law, may 
become a citizen. This process of becoming a citizen 
is termed naturalization. There are thus two classes of 
citizens — those of native birth, and naturalized aliens. 
The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Con- 
stitution declares that: ''All persons born or naturalized 
in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction 
thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the 
state wherein they reside." This includes all persons, 
colored and white alike, and excludes those Indians who 
still belong to tribes which maintain a semi-independent 
character, and yield obedience to tribal chiefs. 

The requirements for naturalization, as fixed by Con- 
gress, are as follows : 

1. Five years' residence in the United States and 
one year's residence in the state where naturalization is 
sought. 

2. Two years' preliminary declaration of an intention 
to become a citizen. 

3. An oath to support the Constitution. 

4. Renunciation of all foreign titles or orders of 
nobility. 

5. Abjuration of allegiance to any foreign power. 
No alien can be naturalized if his native government 



THE STATE 29 

is, at the time, at war with the United States. Naturali- 
zation makes an alien a citizen not only of the United 
States, but of the state or territory in which he is 
admitted. It does not, however, necessarily give him 
the right to vote. That depends upon the law of the 
particular state. Children of aliens who become natural- 
ized, if they live in the United States, and are under 
twenty-one years of age when their parents take the 
oath of citizenship, become citizens by virtue of the 
naturalization of their parents. Also, children born to 
United States citizens while temporarily living in foreign 
countries are held to be native-born citizens when they 
return to live in this country. The Constitution pro- 
vides that the President shall be a native-born citizen 
of the United States. 

Citizenship may be lost by becoming naturalized in a 
foreign country or by desertion from military or naval 
service. 



CHAPTER III 

SUFFRAGE 

Suffrage a Privilege, not a Right. — There is a dispo- 
sition on the part of many, especially in this country, to 
demand that the suffrage, or power of voting, be given 
to every citizen as a natural right, irrespective of his 
qualification to use it properly. No claim could be less 
warranted. The suffrage is a privilege, not a natural 
or inherent right. It is a reward for merit or capacity, 
not a power to be unconditionally demanded. The 
citizen is endowed with the privilege of voting, and 
thereby of participating in the determination of the 
policies of government and the selection of the officials 
who shall transact it, in order that by its exercise the 
good of the state may be maintained. It is, therefore, 
for the state itself to determine by its laws, when, and 
by whom, and under what conditions, this power shall 
be used. As one writer has forcibly said : " The preten- 
sion that every man has the necessary qualifications of 
a citizen simply because he was born twenty-one years 
ago, is as much as to say that labor, merit, virtue, char- 
acter, and experience are to count for nothing." 

As a matter of fact, we do, in this country for the 
most part, give the suffrage to all adult male citi- 
zens, but this is because, upon the whole, they are 

30 



SUFFRAGE 3 1 

deemed qualified to possess it, and because, thereby, all 
have been given a direct interest in public affairs. But 
it is believed by many that we have been too precipitate 
in thus extending the suffrage. Certainly this is true 
in those states in which aliens who have not yet become 
citizens have been given the right to vote. As regards 
the granting of the privilege to the negro population 
irrespective of capacity, this would seem also to be a 
mistake. 

Woman Suffrage. — In a few states the right to vote 
has been given to women as well as to men, and there 
is a demand of considerable strength that this right be 
everywhere accorded them. For the most part, the 
advocates of woman suffrage demand it as a right. 
But this, as we have seen, is not a proper claim. If the 
right be granted at all, it should depend upon whether 
the women are properly qualified to use it, and whether, 
if granted, a new element will be introduced in our politi- 
cal life, which, upon the whole, when considered in all 
its relation to family life, to property considerations, to 
purity of elections, etc., will tend to promote the gen- 
eral welfare of the community. When this does satisfac- 
torily appear, woman suffrage should be granted. The 
women will then be justified in demanding it as a " right." 

As a matter of fact, very few women as yet desire 
the privilege of voting. Aside from this, the great 
objections which are made to giving the privilege are : 
First, The introduction of woman into practical politics 
will necessarily bring her into contact with rough ele- 
ments which will tend to destroy her feminine delicacy 
and charm. Second, In so far as politics distract her 



32 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE 

attention from her other duties, they will tend to lessen 
her attention and devotion to her family and home 
duties. Third, In the majority of cases, giving women 
the right to vote will be tantamount to giving extra votes 
to their husbands or fathers, in accordance with whose 
wills most of them will be inclined to exercise their 
right; or, when they are not guided by the wishes of 
their husbands or other male relatives, inevitable dissen- 
sion will be introduced into the family life where all 
should be harmonious. Fourth, It is maintained that, 
because most women are not engaged actively in busi- 
ness and public life, they would not have that practical 
training and knowledge which would enable them to 
cast their votes intelligently. This last objection has 
least application in reference to voting upon such local 
affairs as education, local option, etc., and, in fact, in ref- 
erence to these matters, it may be asked whether women 
have not often more knowledge and interest than men. 

To the above arguments against the expediency of 
woman suffrage, it may be added that to the true wife 
and mother it is unnecessary. Though the men have 
the vote, the women have the first training of the men, 
and should have a life-long influence over them. And 
if this opportunity and power be properly exercised, 
the men will be predisposed to exercise the suffrage 
wisely and justly. As Professor Vincent, the founder 
and head of the Chautauqua movement, has recently 
said: "Woman now makes man what he is. She con- 
trols him as a babe, boy, manly son, brother, lover, hus- 
band, father. Her influence is enormous. If she use 
it wisely, she needs no additional power. If she abuse 



SUFFRAGE 33 

her opportunity, she deserves no additional responsi- 
bility. Woman can, through the votes of men, have 
every right to which she is entitled. All she has, man 
has gladly given her. It is his glory to represent her. 
To rob him of this right is to weaken both." 

The privilege of being considered eligible to public 
office depends upon the same principles as does the 
suffrage, with only this difference, that, just as the proper 
performance of the duties of governmental officials, 
especially of the higher ones, is more difficult than 
voting, so it is but reasonable that the qualifications for 
appointment or election to the different offices should 
be proportionately increased. 

Exercise of the Suffrage a Duty. — It scarcely needs 
be repeated that the exercise of the suffrage is a duty 
which should not be neglected through indifference or 
self-interest. It is morally obligatory upon the citizen, 
. when elections occur, to go to the polls, and there vote 
^honestly and according to his own independent judg- 
ment. Ordinary business engagements are no sufficient 
excuse, and it is cowardly to refuse to vote in order to 
avoid giving offense to a party. But far worse than not 
to vote at all, is it to vote under some selfish or corrupt 
influence. One of the greatest curses of present Amer- 
ican politics, is corruption and intimidation at the polls. 
Fortunately, however, there is good reason to believe 
that this evil is decreasing. There are two agencies 
which are bringing this about. One of these is the 
gradual development of a higher sense of public honesty 
and morality. The other is the introduction of an im- 
proved method of voting termed the Australian system. 

WIL. AM. CIT. — 3 



34 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE 

The Australian Ballot. — The Australian ballot, which 
has now been introduced into the majority of our states, 
differs in minor details in the different states, but in 
general its features are as follows : The ballots used 
are all prepared and printed by the state. All of the 
names of the candidates are printed on one ticket, and 
the voter is instructed to make cross marks (X) opposite 
the names of those for whom he desires to vote. This 
prevents the voters from being misled, as is often done 
by the distribution of incorrect and misleading tickets, 
whereby, through technical mistakes, their votes are 
sometimes cast out or counted for others than those 
intended. The Australian ballots can be obtained only 
at the polls and in a particular room, from which they 
cannot be taken for any purpose. Each person upon 
going to the polls is given one of these tickets, and 
retires by himself into a room or voting booth, where 
he prepares the ticket as he desires, and deposits it. 
His name is then checked off on the list of registered 
voters of his precinct. 

Absolute secrecy is thus obtained, and perfect inde- 
pendence is made possible ; and, what is still more 
important, the purchase and sale of votes is greatly dis- 
couraged, for a man dishonest enough to sell his vote 
cannot be trusted to vote, without being watched, accord- 
ing to his agreement. Thus politicians hesitate to bribe 
voters, when they have no means of knowing that they 
will fulfill their part of the contract. 

This independence in voting is of special value to 
employees, who might desire to vote a ticket different 
from that approved by their employers, and yet might 



SUFFRAGE 35 

be deterred from so doing through fear of losing their 
places, should their manner of voting be ascertained 
by their employers. 

Corrupt Practices Acts. — Another vast improvement 
which can be made in the honesty and purity of elec- 
tions is in the enactment of what are called ** Corrupt 
Practices Acts," such as have been passed in England 
and in a few of our own states. These are laws which 
not only provide very severe penalties for bribery of 
any sort, direct or indirect, pecuniary or otherwise, but 
which require that all candidates shall, within a few 
days after election day, publish a sworn statement 
giving an itemized account of all moneys contributed 
or expended by them directly, or indirectly, to any 
other person, in aid of their election. Thus, a man 
who is guilty of the corrupt use of money in furthering 
his election, cannot, without perjury, avoid the publi- 
cation of his guilt, and the consequent penalties which 
the law provides for such corrupt expenditures, as well 
as the contempt of every good citizen. These "Cor- 
rupt Practices Acts" usually contain, also, provisions 
forbidding, under severe penalties, the attempt of em- 
ployers to influence by threats or rewards the votes of 
their employees. 

In almost all cases, whatever the system of voting, it 
is required that a person shall be registered as a qualified 
voter prior to election day. Registration books are 
kept for this purpose in all voting precincts, in which 
a citizen may have his name entered, upon proving 
his residenceship, proper qualifications, etc. In some 
places the prior payment of a small poll or capitation 



36 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE 

tax, that is, a fixed sum for each individual, is made a 
requirement for registration. After depositing his vote, 
the name of each citizen is checked upon the registra- 
tion book of the precinct, and thus voting more than 
once, or "repeating," as it is called, is prevented. 
Votes have to be cast in person, and great care must 
be taken that absent voters, or deceased persons, are 
not impersonated by others. 

In a few cases, ingenious voting machines have been 
used which register automatically each vote as cast, 
and thus prevent not only the depositing of more than 
one ballot, but keep tally of the number of votes cast, 
and prevent both fraud and delay in the counting of 
the votes at the close of the election day. 



CHAPTER IV 

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 

International Law. — The ordinary laws which a state 
enacts for the control of its own citizens are termed 
municipal laws, and necessarily have no force beyond 
the limits of its own territory, except in so far as other 
states, for reasons of convenience or friendship, see 
fit to apply them. Ambassadors and other international 
representatives are universally held exempt from the 
laws of the country in which they reside, and bound only 
by the laws of their own governments. Also, many 
contracts made in foreign countries or in reference to 
property situated in foreign countries and many com- 
mercial matters are regulated by foreign law. It is 
universally held that ships of war, wherever they are, 
and merchant ships upon the high seas, are under the 
laws of their home government. But except in the 
above cases, the courts of a given country apply only 
the law of its own government, and such law has no 
force beyond the limits of that country. 

The relations of states to each other are regulated 
by general principles founded upon custom, upon trea> 
ties, and upon dictates of reason, humanity, and utility. 
These rules, though not laws in the strict sense of 
being formally and definitely declared by the law- 

37 



38 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE 

making body of a particular power, and having tribunals 
for their interpretation and enforcement, are neverthe- 
less in most cases capable of precise statement, and 
are, as a rule, as faithfully followed as are the domestic 
or municipal laws of the individual states. Principles 
of morality, justice, and convenience in general oper- 
ate to induce a willing obedience on the part of states 
in this respect, and where they fail, the fear of war 
waged by the aggrieved states acts as a compelling 
force. 

The subject of International Law is one of increasing 
importance ; for whereas in early times it was the cus- 
tom of states and of citizens of different states to have 
as little to do with one other as possible, the spread 
of modern ideas of a common brotherhood of all man- 
kind, and the increased facility for communication and 
transportation afforded by the telegraph, the railroad, 
and steamships, have tended everywhere to increase 
intercourse, and to create industrial, commercial, and 
financial interests which are common to several or to 
all nations. The international trade of our own, as well 
as of other countries, has risen to enormous proportions. 
No country now produces all the commodities which 
are consumed by it, and some countries make no pre- 
tense of raising more than a small part of the food 
necessary for the sustenance of their own populations, 
but depend wholly upon international trade to secure 
the balance. 

At all times there are thousands of American citizens 
traveling or temporarily residing in foreign countries 
all over the globe, and on the other hand there are 



INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 39 

constantly within our midst thousands of subjects of 
foreign powers. These conditions give rise to a multi- 
tude of disputes between different states. For it is one 
of the most valuable and sacred rights of a citizen that 
he may demand protection from his home government 
when abroad, in case the government of the state in 
which he is does not accord him protection against per- 
sonal violence, or secure him justice in the property 
relations into which he has entered either with the 
state or with its citizens. Though one state cannot dic- 
tate to another what privileges shall be granted to its 
citizens, it is recognized to have the international right 
to insist that the state in which its citizens are resident 
shall accord to them the same protection against vio- 
lence to person and property that it gives to its own 
citizens, and that the same means of legal redress in its 
courts shall be open to them. Thus, if one of our citi- 
zens thinks himself denied justice, or injured as to any 
property rights by the government of the state in which 
he is traveling or living, or if he is imprisoned without 
conviction for crime, after a fair and impartial trial in 
which he has had proper means of defending himself, 
or if he or his property is injured by acts of private 
individuals which the local government might have pre- 
vented had it used the proper degree of energy and 
caution, — in any of the above instances and in others 
too numerous to mention, an American citizen can 
appeal to his own state for redress or protection, and, 
if his complaint be properly substantiated, our govern- 
ment will undertake to secure him his due rights even 
at the cost of war if necessary. 



40 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE 

In the same way, our government owes rights to all 
aliens residing within its limits. 

Aside from the protection of its citizens when 
abroad, and the control of international trade and 
commerce, every state has the recognized sovereign 
right to protect its territory from invasion, and to de- 
termine without interference from outside what form 
of government it will establish and maintain, and in 
general to govern its own citizens as it sees fit. 

The last statement, however, holds true only within 
reasonable limits. According to the doctrine held by 
civilized nations of the present time, intervention on 
their part is justified when it has for its purpose the 
prevention of extreme oppression of foreign subjects 
by their own governments. It was mainly upon this 
humanitarian ground that the United States undertook 
to release the Cubans from the control of Spain. 

Repeating, then, what we have already said, we may 
state the objects of international law as threefold : 

'' I. It determines national boundaries and other na- 
tional prerogatives. 

" 2. It defines and maintains the commercial rights 
of persons engaged in international trade. 

"3. It settles the privileges of the subject of each 
state when abroad, and points out the way in which 
these privileges are to be defended." (Wharton.) 

In general, the good sense and feelings of justice of 
the several states secure the substantial enforcement 
of international rights without resort to force. When, 
however, all pacific means of settlement are exhausted 
and war is declared, again international law steps in 



INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 4 1 

and reduces the struggle to a definite and orderly con- 
test, and seeks to minimize its evil results. Neutral 
states, that is, those not engaged in the war, receive 
definite rights as to the safety of their subjects and the 
protection of their commerce. On the other hand, they 
are required to abstain from giving assistance to any 
of the combatants. 

Within the theater of war, definite provisions are 
made for determining just what property shall be liable 
to seizure and destruction or confiscation. As to the 
actual operation of war, international law seeks, as has 
been said, to render the combat as little destructive to 
life, and as little productive of suffering, as need be. 
It therefore requires that the aim shall be to cripple 
and weaken the enemy rather than to destroy him. 
For this reason all civilized nations agree that those 
kinds of shot and shell which needlessly lacerate the 
persons struck by them shall not be used. The use 
of poison is also prohibited. Irregular fighting, that 
is, killing by persons not members of a regular army, 
is forbidden. Whenever possible, enemies are taken 
prisoners rather than killed, and when captured are 
humanely treated. Non-combatants are protected from 
injury. Finally, all ambulances and military hospitals 
are declared to be inviolate from attack so long as any 
sick or wounded remain therein. 

Arbitration. — One of the most efficient means of 
preventing war with all its resulting horrors, and one 
which is being more and more resorted to in modern 
times, is arbitration ; that is, the appointment of arbi- 
trators by the nations between whom a controversy has 



42 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE 

arisen, which cannot be settled through the ordinary- 
diplomatic channels. These representatives of the 
nations respectively interested meet together, usually 
select from some disinterested state an impartial presi- 
dent, investigate fully all the facts, discuss among 
themselves their weight, and, as a result, render a 
decision which they believe to be justified by the rights 
in the case. Opportunity is thus given not only for 
a full and fair consideration of all facts and rights con- 
cerned, but, what is just as important, time for sober 
second thought, without which nations may in mo- 
ments of sudden irritation and passion be unnecessarily 
plunged into struggles disastrous to all concerned. Not 
the least important of the duties of every good citizen, 
therefore, is to use his influence toward the mainte- 
nance of peace whenever such peace is consistent with 
true national honor and morality. 

The Diplomatic Service. — For the purpose of com- 
munication with foreign governments, and for the con- 
venience of having resident representatives who can 
keep their home governments informed regarding all 
that occurs of international importance, and who may 
be easily appealed to by any citizen who has suffered, 
or is threatened with, violence or injustice at the hands 
of a foreign power or its subjects, every state maintains 
a diplomatic service, which consists of ambassadors, 
ministers, and agents of different degrees of rank and 
power who reside at foreign capitals and perform the 
duties just enumerated. Such international or diplo- 
matic representatives have a peculiar sanctity in that, 
as has been already indicated, they are held to be in 



INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 43 

no wise amenable to the law of the land in which they 
are stationed, but may be punished for crime or other 
misdeeds only by their home government. They have 
a high social dignity such as befits the representatives 
of a sovereign state, and any affront to them, even of 
a purely social nature, is immediately resented by the 
people and the governments which they represent. 

Consular Service. — In addition to the diplomatic serv- 
ice, every state maintains a consular service for the 
sake of protecting and advancing its international com- 
mercial interests. At every foreign port where its trade 
is of any considerable amount, a consular agent is 
stationed whose duty it is to do everything possible to 
assist his fellow citizens in their trade operations, to 
grant them proper clearance papers, to solemnize mar- 
riages, to administer oaths in necessary cases, to take 
charge of the effects of stranded vessels, to administer 
estates of citizens dying within their consulates, to dis- 
charge seamen, provide for destitute seamen, reclaim 
deserters, etc. They also have the important duty of 
sending reports to their home governments as to mat- 
ters of general commercial interest. 

In barbarous and semi-barbarous states, consuls are 
often charged with judicial functions, that is, authority 
for the determination of disputes in which their country- 
men are interested. This right is founded upon the 
assumption that there do not exist in the country in 
which they are located, courts in which substantial 
justice to foreigners can be obtained. 



CHAPTER V 

GOVERNMENT 

Its Functions. — We have already defined government 
as the machinery through which the functions of the 
state are performed. These functions we may classify 
in two ways. First, according to their character, into 
legislative, executive, and judicial; and second, accord- 
ing to the necessity of their performance by the state, 
into essential and non-essential. 

Legislative, Judicial, and Executive Functions. — The 
general purpose of the state is to provide some supreme 
authority, which shall exercise an oversight and control 
over all matters that pertain to the general welfare, 
which shall restrain, when necessary, particular acts of 
the individual, and which shall be able to provide a suf- 
ficient armed force to prevent interference and invasion 
by outside nations. In order to perform these duties, 
a state has first of all to declare certain general rules 
of conduct called laws, which all are required to obey. 
This is called the legislative authority. Next, it is 
absolutely necessary in all states that there should be 
created organs for the interpretation of laws and for 
their specific application to individual cases whenever 
there arises any controversy as to their applicability. 
This is the function performed by the courts, and is 

44 



GOVERNMENT 



45 



termed the judicial function. When the laws explicitly 
forbid certain acts, and attach penalties to their per- 
formance, such acts are termed crimes or misdemeanors, 
the laws forbidding them are termed criminal laws, and 
the persons violating them are tried in the criminal 
courts. When the laws have reference to other mat- 
ters, such as property, contract, commerce, etc., they 
are termed civil laws, and are interpreted and applied 
in civil courts. 

Finally, there is required in every state a variety of 
organs through which the laws which have been de- 
clared by the legislative bodies, and interpreted and 
applied, when necessary, by the courts or judicial 
bodies, are actually carried into execution. This func- 
tion is termed the executive function, and the organs 
and officers through which the great variety of the 
duties of the state are finally enforced and performed, 
are termed executive organs of the government. 

Of course, in the vast majority of instances, the com- 
mands uttered by the law-making body are immediately 
put into execution by the executive officials. The inter- 
vention of the courts is necessary only in those cases 
where there is a doubt as to the meaning of the law, or 
where its provisions have been or are alleged to have 
been violated, and recompense or enforcement is de- 
manded by the ones who claim to have been injured by 
such violation ; or where a crime or misdemeanor has 
been committed, and the criminal courts are called upon 
to fix the penalty therefor. 

Later on, when we come to consider our own govern- 
ment, we shall treat its legislative, judicial, and execu- 



46 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE 

tive duties and organs in separate chapters, and it will 
then be necessary to remember the meanings we have 
just given to these terms. 

Essential Duties. — We turn now to the second classi- 
fication of governmental duties ; namely, to that based 
upon the degree of the necessity for their exercise by 
the state. Among the various functions of government 
there are many, the performance of which by the state 
is so obviously necessary for its very existence as an 
independent political power, that no question concern- 
ing the expediency of their exercise is possible. These 
are called the essential functions. It is thus admitted 
by all except anarchists, that every state, whatever its 
form of government, should possess sufficient power 
and authority to maintain its existence against foreign 
interference, to provide the means whereby its national 
life may be preserved and developed, and to procure 
internal order, including the protection of life, liberty, 
and property. An eminent writer in political science. 
Professor Woodrow Wilson, has classified these duties 
under the following heads : 

1. The keeping of order and providing for the pro- 
tection of persons and property from violence and 
robbery. 

2. The fixing of the legal relation between man and 
wife, and between parents and children. 

3. The regulation of the holding, transmission, and 
interchange of property, and determination of its liabili- 
ties for debt or for crime. 

4. The determination of contract rights between indi- 
viduals. 



GOVERNMENT 47 

5. The definition and punishment of crime. 

6. The administration of justice in civil causes. 

7. The determination of the poHtical duties, privi- 
leges, and relations of citizens. 

8. Dealings of the state with foreign powers; the 
preservation of the state from external danger or en- 
croachment, and the advancement of its intellectual 
interests. 

The extent to which the state is obliged to go in the 
control of these essential matters depends largely upon 
the character of the people governed, and their state of 
civilization. In some cases it may be necessary for the 
state to fix absolutely, as far as possible, all the details 
in these matters. In other cases the most general rules 
may suffice, and the people may safely be left volun- 
tarily to settle these matters among themselves, without 
the coercion and interference of the state. Just to the 
extent to which the people are themselves disposed to 
pay their just debts, to abide by their contracts, to refrain 
from crime, and generally to treat one another justly 
and properly, the intervention of law is not needed. 

In early times the quantity of government is much 
more important than its quality. That which is wanted 
is a comprehensive rule binding men together and mak- 
ing them act in accordance with some definite law of 
conduct. What this rule is does not matter so much. 
A good rule is better than a bad one, but any rule is 
better than none. Thus, when civilization has not ad- 
vanced far, the urgent necessity for public control of 
some sort leaves but little room for the freedom of the 
individual, — a freedom which, indeed, the individual 



48 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE 

has not yet learned to desire, or properly to use. In 
this stage the variety of powers exercised by the state 
is not, in actual practice, so great, but the rules which 
define the scope and manner of exercise of the public 
authority are so general and indefinite that in almost no 
direction does the individual possess any certain guar- 
anty against state interference. 

As civilization advances, however, not only does the 
orderly habit of the people increase, but their moral 
qualities become more developed. The distinction be- 
tween right and wrong is more clearly recognized, and 
the principles of justice are more frequently followed 
without reference to the sanction of the state ; the 
feeling of self-dependence arises ; the desire for a 
certain latitude of action uncontrolled by the powers 
of the state comes into being; and thus, by degrees, 
the arbitrary and extensive control of the state becomes 
irksome. Thus arises a struggle between authority and 
liberty — a struggle that has continued and will prob- 
ably continue throughout history. 

This struggle, it is to be remarked, is of a twofold 
nature : Fwst, to secure to the individual a certain field 
in which he shall be free to act as he will without inter- 
ference either from the political power or from private 
individuals. Second, to establish general rules accord- 
ing to which the functions that are given to govern- 
ment shall be exercised ; that is, to substitute for the 
arbitrary and uncertain action a more or less certain 
and uniform regulation of public affairs. Neither one 
of these aims is necessarily bound up in the other, 
and each is separately obtainable. 



GOVERNMENT 



49 



We thus distinguish between poHtical freedom, which 
is the power of the people themselves to determine 
what form of government shall be established, and 
what shall be its power ; and individual freedom, or 
the security derived from the law whereby one is pro- 
tected by the government from the violence of other 
individuals. The one is freedom to control govern- 
ment; the other, freedom from private interference 
guaranteed by the government. The former refers to 
the extent to which the people participate generally in 
the management of the state, or at least dictate the 
manner in which its powers shall be exercised. The 
latter has to do with the extent to which private rights 
of life, liberty, and property are secured. 

As has been said, there is no necessary connection 
between political and individual freedom. Where politi- 
cal freedom exists to any considerable extent, we term 
the government a popular government; where it does 
not exist, we term the government absolute or autocratic. 
But it is just as possible to find individual freedom in 
the latter case as in the former. Under the Roman 
Empire there was little political freedom, yet individual 
rights were, as a rule, ample and well protected. On 
the other hand, among the early Germanic tribes which 
controlled most of Europe after the fall of Rome, there 
existed much more political freedom, with much less 
protection of private rights. So, also, in our own day, 
it is not found that individual rights are any more 
ample or better protected in popular governments, and, 
in some instances not so well, as in those governments 
in which the people do not participate so directly or so 

WIL. AM. CIT. — 4 



50 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE 

fully in the control of public affairs. From the very- 
nature of the case it is just as easy for a popular gov- 
ernment as for any other to go to extremes in con- 
trolling in detail the private actions of the individual, 
and thus in diminishing his individual freedom. 

Law and Liberty. — It might possibly seem, from 
what has been said, that individual or civic freedom 
and regulation by law are so opposed to each other 
that the extension of the one is the corresponding limi- 
tation of the other. But this is true only to a certain 
extent. 

If the state had no authority whatever, it would cease 
to exist, and there would then be no means whereby 
the commands of the law could be enforced. In fact, 
no legal code of conduct could be said to exist. It is 
only when the state lays down and enforces general 
rules of conduct, that the individual is protected in the 
exercise of that freedom of action that is left to him. 
Public laws are necessarily of a general character, and 
within the limits that they set, a field of activity is 
created within which the freedom of the individual is 
protected. Thus laws regulating the holding and trans- 
ference of property defend the people in the possession 
of their wealth and in its free use and consumption. 
General laws regulating contract provide the individual 
with a protection under which he may enter into con- 
tractual relations with his neighbors, with the assurance 
of having his rights protected. Penal laws and their 
enforcement protect both the life and the property of 
the person, without which freedom would be either 
impossible or worthless. The sum of the rights thus 



GOVERNMENT 5 1 

secured to men through the state constitutes their civic 
freedom, and all that any one can demand is that the 
governmental authority be exercised in as general a 
manner and to as small an extent as is compatible with 
the capacity of the people for the proper exercise of 
the freedom of action that is thereby reserved to them. 

But this is just the point. Upon what general princi- 
ples is the line to be drawn between public control for 
the public good, and individual freedom for individual 
good ? This brings us to the consideration of the non- 
essential duties of the state. 

Non-essential Functions. — The functions included 
under this head embrace in general those duties per- 
formed by the state in the regulation of the economic, 
industrial, and moral interests of the people. They are 
those activities which are assumed by the state, not 
because their exercise is absolutely essential to the 
state's existence, but because it is supposed that their 
public regulation or control will be advantageous to the 
people as a whole. They are duties which, if left in 
private hands, would either not be performed at all or 
would be poorly performed. Within this field it be- 
comes important to determine such questions as the 
following : Shall the state regulate trade and industry, 
and to what extent.^ Shall the coinage of money and 
the control of banking be given to it } Shall it own 
and manage the railroads, the telegraph, and telephone 
lines, or the canals ? Shall education be provided at 
public expense } Shall the employment of women and 
children in the factories and mines be regulated by law ? 
To what extent shall the government seek to secure 



52 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE 

good sanitation by providing public sewers, forbidding 
excessive hours of labor, establishing quarantines, com- 
pelUng the use of appHances for the prevention of ac- 
cidents, etc. ? Shall the state provide for the care of 
the poor and of the insane ? Shall it restrain the sale 
and consumption of intoxicating liquors ? Shall it pro- 
vide lighthouses ? Shall it seek to encourage home 
industries by means of high tariff duties ? Shall the 
cities own their own street railways, their markets, their 
water, gas, and electric supplies, their telephones, or 
water fronts ; or shall these be left under the control of 
private individuals or corporations ? 

These, and a multitude of other questions, are con- 
stantly arising for determination within this general 
field of non-essential duties. The characteristic point 
in them all, however, is that, as already said, the state's 
existence as an independent political body and enforcer 
of law is not dependent upon their exercise. It is op- 
tional whether or not they shall be assumed, and the 
way is thus open for the widest difference of opinion 
as to whether or not this or that particular function 
shall be undertaken. According to the weight given 
to the various arguments for and against state action, 
the widest divergency of views is possible. 

It would seem reasonable to hold that, inasmuch as 
all government exists only for the good of the people, 
the determination of the powers it should assume should 
be based wholly upon the ground of expediency, and 
that its action should not be limited in any direction 
in which the real good of the people would be attained 
thereby. When, however, we state that these questions 



GOVERNMENT 53 

are to be determined wholly by expediency, warning 
must be given against the mistake of looking only to 
immediate and apparent benefits to be derived from 
state action, and disregarding ultimate results which 
may be thoroughly dangerous and harmful. There is 
always the greatest danger that this error will be made, 
and that state action will be demanded which, though 
leading to temporary advantage or benefit in one direc- 
tion, will be injurious in another, or will establish an 
unfortunate precedent or have a bad educational influ- 
ence upon the people. The following considerations 
should always be borne in mind in determining whether 
or not a given activity or control shall be assumed by 
the government. 

Conditions Justifying Governmental Action. — In a 
state of expanding civilization it is impossible, and in- 
advisable, even were it possible, for a government to 
stand still without change or development. New con^ 
ditions give rise to new needs. Regulation by the state, 
which once may have been necessary, may thus become 
unnecessary and harmful ; and, on the other hand, that 
which has before been safely left to private performance 
may afterwards require state control. As the morality 
of the people increases, the need for the exercise of the 
punitive powers of the state becomes less, punishments 
for crime may be made less severe, and the necessity 
for large standing armies becomes less imperative. On 
the other hand, the need for increased control by the 
state in industrial matters becomes greater. As indus- 
trial and commercial life develops and increases in im- 
portance and complexity, the social interests — those 



54 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE 

affecting the people in general — become more numer- 
ous and important, so that in regard to these matters 
both justice and utility demand that individual interests 
be subordinated to the general welfare of the com- 
munity. 

We may illustrate this by a few examples. As long 
as manufacturing was carried on by hand at the homes 
of the workingmen, there was little or no need of inter- 
vention by the state, either for the purposes of regula- 
tion or control. When, however, steam was introduced 
as a motive power, which led to the production of com- 
modities on a large scale in enormous factories, in 
which many men, women, and children were grouped 
together for the operation of intricate machines, it be- 
came a matter of public necessity that the state should 
intervene to see that the operatives were not overworked, 
that they were surrounded by proper sanitary condi- 
tions, and that devices for protection against accidents 
were employed. So, also, in regard to transportation. 
As long as this was by means of wagons and stage 
coaches, there did not appear to be much need of public 
regulation, but now that the railroads have, by their 
wonderful development, become a very necessity to our 
modern industrial and social life, it is everywhere rec- 
ognized that they should be subjected to a certain 
amount of public regulation ; and in some quarters the 
demand has become urgent that their actual ownership 
and operation should be placed in the hands of the 
state. Finally, the development of large cities has given 
rise to a very large number of new conditions which are 
of public rather than of purely private concern. Espe- 



GOVERNMENT 55 

cially is this so in respect to sanitation (including sew- 
erage, inspection of food, abating of nuisances, and 
isolation of contagious diseases), lighting, water supply, 
rapid transit, telephones, markets, wharves, police serv- 
ice, street paving and cleaning, fire departments, public 
parks, building regulations, licensing of certain trades, 
maintenance of hospitals, control of public meetings, 
etc. 

Possibly the most recent example of the transforma- 
tion of a private matter to one of public concern is seen 
in the development of gigantic ''trusts." These are 
enormous corporations which absolutely control the pro- 
duction of certain commodities, and thus remove them 
from the healthy influence of competition, with a result 
that those interested are able to charge excessive prices 
for the goods produced. In this way the manufacture 
of these articles has ceased to be a matter of purely pri- 
vate concern, and has become one of public interest, 
and, therefore, one which the state may properly 
regulate. 

The first lesson, then, which we must learn is, that 
change is not to be resisted merely because it is change. 
Growth is necessary to a healthy political life, and 
change is therefore to be resisted only upon positive 
logical grounds of inappropriateness to the end desired. 

Secondly, as was implied in what was said in regard 
to trusts, the intervention of the state in industrial mat- 
ters, either for purposes of control or ownership, can 
be justified, as a rule, only in those cases where the in- 
dustries, when in private hands, are not properly influ- 
enced and controlled by competition. Self-interest is 



56 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE 

a universal principle in human nature ; the tendency, 
therefore, is for the individual to look rather to his own 
good and advantage than to the welfare of his neighbor. 
When, however, there are a number of persons competr 
ing with one another for trade, no one of them can ask 
an excessive price for the commodity which he has to 
sell, for to do so would but result in driving his cus- 
tomers to his cheaper rivals. Furthermore, in the keen 
struggle for custom, each manufacturer will have every 
inducement to use the most economical means of pro- 
duction possible, in order that he may be able to under- 
sell his competitors. He will thus be led to avoid 
unnecessary waste, and be eager to introduce new and 
improved methods and machinery. In this way indus- 
trial invention will constantly be encouraged, and the 
economic condition of society as a whole will be ad- 
vanced. 

When this healthy competition is not present, none of 
these beneficial results are secured, and the public will 
be forced to pay an excessive price for the commodities 
produced. Other things being equal, it would seem 
that in such instances it would be for the general 
good for the government itself to assume ownership or 
powers of regulation. The general circumstances 
under which monopolies arise are when the producers 
are so few that they can combine and fix an arbitrary 
price; or where the commodities produced or the serv- 
ices rendered are of such a character, or the manufac- 
turing plants occupy such peculiarly favored spots or 
lines of land, that no successful outside competition is 
possible. The most important examples of these so- 



GOVERNMENT 



57 



called " natural monopolies " are seen in the production 
and distribution of water, gas, and electricity, the main- 
tenance of railways, street-car lines, telephone systems, 
markets, wharves, etc. In all of these cases the exist- 
ence of two or more systems is absolutely unnecessary, 
and, therefore, if established, an unnecessary expense 
to society. Thus, under ordinary circumstances, one 
line of street-cars upon a given thoroughfare is all that 
is needed ; two systems of water or gas supply lead to 
unnecessary tearing up of the streets for the purpose of 
laying the pipes, and give no better service than would 
a single system. A monopoly, therefore, seems not 
only necessary, but desirable, in all such cases, and 
hence there would seem to be the strongest reason why 
the state or city should itself be the owner and pro- 
ducer, and thus give to the people at large either very 
cheap service, or return to them the profits to be de- 
rived from such enterprises. 

Another general class of cases in which the interven- 
tion of the authority of the state is justified, is where 
there is competition under improper conditions. Bene- 
ficial competition is possible only where the contestants 
are of comparatively equal strength. Where there is 
not this comparative equality, a contest really means 
not competition with its resulting benefits, but simply 
the destruction or the degradation of the weaker party. 
This condition of affairs is conspicuously exhibited in 
the relations between factory owners and their em- 
ployees. Here, in many cases, so many are the men, 
women, and children who are seeking employment, 
and so absolutely necessary is it that they should 



58 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE 

obtain work, that they are forced to take it even though 
it be surrounded by the most obnoxious conditions. 
When this is so, the state should step in with its regu- 
lative control to require, for example, proper ventilation, 
lighting, plumbing, and the use of accident-preventing 
devices, to fix a maximum length of the day's work, for 
women and children at least, and to limit the age at 
which the latter shall be employed, or even absolutely 
to prohibit their employment in certain arduous or dan- 
gerous trades. In such cases the state intervenes not 
to own, but simply to regulate, the given industry; and 
the result is not a check to competition, but rather a 
raising of the level upon which it is to be conducted. 

Another class of circumstances under which the inter- 
vention of the state may be beneficial, is where the action 
of a few selfish individuals may compel all other mem- 
bers of their profession to adopt undesirable methods. 
Instances of this are seen when one or two members of 
a certain trade insist upon keeping their establishments 
open on Sunday, and thereby force all others to do the 
same if they wish to retain their share of the trade. 
The result is that all have to work an extra day each 
week, and yet the sum total of custom which they re- 
ceive is not increased a dollar's worth. In such cases a 
law forbidding Sunday trade would regulate and im- 
prove the condition of the given business without in any 
way destroying competition. 

Another class of activities in which the agency of the 
state seems to be beneficial is in the regulation of mat- 
ters in which those who are the most interested are the 
least able to see the necessity of regulation. This is 



GOVERNMENT 59 

most obvious in matters of compulsory education, sani- 
tation, and the like, where it is the most ignorant people 
who most need knowledge and who are most likely to 
suffer insanitary conditions to arise and prevail, and yet 
who are the very least qualified to judge of the value 
of knowledge, or of the harmfulness of insanitary con- 
ditions. 

Finally, there are many services for the promotion 
of the happiness and welfare of a people which, if not 
performed by the state, would not be performed at all. 
As a rule, these are services educational in character 
rather than coercive, directive rather than controlling. 
Under this head come such matters as the provision 
of public libraries and reading rooms, public baths, 
parks, boards of health, and, probably the most impor- 
tant of all, the collection and diffusion in published 
reports of information which may be of value to the 
people. Of this last sort is the work performed by the 
United States Departments of Labor and Agriculture, 
by the Bureau of Education, the Fish Commission, the 
Coast and Geodetic Survey, and by the National Census 
which is made every ten years. In many of our states, 
also, there exist similar departments and bureaus for 
the performance of similar work. All of the results 
obtained by the investigations carried on by these 
departments are published, and, in general, distributed 
free of cost to the public. 

It has been estimated that in this way there is given 
to the public by the federal government, scientific infor- 
mation equivalent in amount to a daily publication of 
120 pages. Of the immense value of this work, taken 



60 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE 

as a whole, there can be no question, and its compara- 
tive cost is very sHght. Not only are public officials 
and legislators thus furnished with information upon 
which to base intelligent and wise action, but the people 
themselves are provided with useful knowledge. 

Take, for instance, the work of the United States 
Department of Agriculture. In this department, 
among other duties, the habits of injurious insects and 
birds are investigated, and the best means for their 
destruction are determined; the causes and remedies 
for diseases which afflict live stock are studied, and 
measures taken for their prevention and eradication. 
In this way, for example, the once very destructive con- 
tagious disease among live stock, pleuro-pneumonia, 
has been almost eliminated from the United States. 

This department publishes monthly and annual sta- 
tistics of the condition and prices of crops, and thus the 
farmer is assisted in disposing of his produce in the 
most advantageous manner possible. For the introduc- 
tion of improved methods of agriculture, experiment 
stations have been established in almost every state, 
and the best qualities of seeds have been tested, and, 
to a very considerable extent, distributed gratuitously 
among the farmers. In one of the reports it is stated 
that, as a result of a single frost warning contained in 
one of the weather crop bulletins issued by the depart- 
ment, over one hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars 
worth of the cranberry crop of a single state was saved 
through the adoption of precautionary measures which 
such warning rendered possible. 

All such duties as the above are in no wise socialistic, 



GOVERNMENT 6 1 

since, from their very nature, they are not likely to be 
performed or even possible of performance by private 
parties ; and thus their exercise by the state does not 
limit the field for private enterprise. 

To the above classes of optional functions of the 
state, that of the control of certain matters based upon 
the idea of directly increasing morality may possibly 
be added. Here the state enters upon very dangerous 
ground, however, its action being justifiable or expedi- 
ent in very few cases. Experience has proven that, in 
general, the control of immoral habits which do not 
involve the commission of crime can best be left to the 
individual conscience and the restraint of public opinion. 

In the control of the manufacture, sale, and consump- 
tion of intoxicating liquors, many motives enter. Aside 
from the revenue to be derived from the taxation of 
these liquors, the idea of lessening a very great source 
of crime, poverty, and disease is prominent, but usually 
there is present also the motive of restraining drinking 
as an immoral practice. Other examples of the regu- 
lative control of the state in matters such as these are 
in laws prohibiting improper exhibitions, obscene pic- 
tures or speech, etc. 

However, even after it has been decided that this 
or that function shall be performed by the state, there 
still remain the problems of determining how it shall 
be performed, what sort of an organ or office shall be 
created for its performance, and whether it shall be per- 
formed by the central or a local government. These 
are questions of practical statesmanship, regarding which 
few general rules can be laid down. Concerning the 



62 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE 

division of duties between central and local govern- 
ments, we shall speak later on. 

Objections to Governmental Action. — Thus far we have 
been speaking of those duties concerning which, under 
favorable circumstances, the activity of the state would 
seem to be useful. We have now to speak of those 
negative considerations which have always to be remem- 
bered, — those facts which tend to make governmental 
action unsatisfactory and harmful. 

In the first place, and most important of all, the per- 
formance by the state of any act which can possibly be 
performed by private enterprise, has a most undesirable 
influence in lessening the spirit of individual self-help 
and initiative. It renders the people just to that extent 
accustomed to look to the government for aid, rather 
than to seek it in their own energy and enterprise. It is 
one of the things of which we Americans are justly proud 
that we have, as a nation, to a high degree, a spirit of 
individual self-help which makes us disinclined to seek 
assistance outside of ourselves. We should never lessen 
this habit or characteristic, and should always oppose 
resort to governmental agency except in relation to 
those matters enumerated above, and only then when 
the necessity seems especially urgent. 

With advancing civilization inevitably comes increased 
complexity of social relations, and hence a constant 
necessity for the increase of the state's activities in cer- 
tain directions. But together with this tendency come 
other forces which will render less necessary a resort to 
this agency. With increasing civilization will come 
a higher morality, a broader altruism, and a wider 



GOVERNMENT 63 

intellectual horizon. These are the forces which may 
be depended upon for the correction of imperfect con- 
ditions, as they arise, without the intervention of the 
state. The more enlightened the people are, morally 
and intellectually, the more inclined and more able will 
they become to depend upon their individual and volun- 
tary powers for the regulation of their own affairs, and 
the less likely will they be to tolerate a regime through 
which a broad field of freedom of individual action is 
not secured. Their intellectual advancement will enable 
them to discover the means in very many cases to cor- 
rect abuses without calling in the assistance of the state ; 
and increased morality will render possible the practical 
operation of these means. 

A second general objection to state action is the fact 
that it is impossible to obtain from governmental agen- 
cies that economy of administration, and from its officials 
that sense of individual responsibility and energy which 
personal interest and ambition alone can give. When 
a business is conducted, or a work carried on, by private 
parties, both their individual reputations and capital are 
involved ; while in the case of public officials, the cost 
is not borne by them except to an infinitesimal degree, 
they do not derive personal benefit from small econo- 
mies, and, except as they are actuated by a high sense 
of public duty, they have no vital interest in the success 
of the undertaking beyond merely doing well enough to 
retain o^ce. Other things being equal, therefore, private 
management is both more efficient and more economi- 
cal than state management, except where the work to 
be done is of such magnitude or requires such a long 



64 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE 

period of time for completion, that it will be difficult or 
impossible to obtain private capital for the purpose. 

Thirdly, there is the danger of political corruption. 
Where politics are as corrupt as they are in many places 
in the United States, especially in the larger cities, 
there is a constant danger that any extension of the 
duties of the state will result only in providing more 
offices for distribution as political spoil to incapable, if 
not dishonest, officials. 

Fourthly, and finally, there is to be pointed out the 
fundamental objection to any species of legislation on 
the part of the state which results in a violation of indi- 
vidual rights of property or the freedom of contracts, 
or their sanctity when made. These rights constitute 
the very basis of our ideas of justice, as well as the 
foundation upon which all industrial and commercial 
prosperity and development have been erected. They 
are rights, therefore, not lightly to be disturbed. 

In our day, and in this country, there are constantly 
being proposed measures which, for the sake of better- 
ing the conditions of some, would deprive others of their 
property or interfere with their freedom to make and 
enforce fulfillment of such contracts as they see fit to 
make. In a democratic state, that is, in one in which 
the suffrage and the right to hold office are widely 
extended, there is a constant demand on the part of 
the masses for any state action that seems to offer the 
slightest promise of relieving the condition of the poor. 
In many cases these demands are perfectly justifiable; 
but when they are based on the principle of taking 
property from one class to give it to another, only the 



GOVERNMENT 65 

most urgent need can justify them either morally or 
economically. By rendering property rights less se- 
cure, thrift and saving are discouraged, and, ultimately, 
society as a whole is rendered so much poorer. No 
state, and a democratic state least of all, can be suc- 
cessfully conducted without a general reverence for law, 
and this reverence cannot be preserved if law be made 
the instrument of injustice, and caused to violate the 
very rights which it should aim to create and maintain. 
As President John Quincy Adams once said, ''The 
moment the idea is admitted into society that property 
is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is not 
a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy 
and tyranny begin." 

Socialism and Communism. — The term socialism is 
used to describe that form of political society in which 
the duties of the state are so enormously extended as 
to include the ownership and operation of all land, ma- 
chinery, and other instruments of production. The 
Standard Dictionary defines the term as follows : " A 
theory of civil polity that aims to secure the reconstruc- 
tion of society, increase of wealth, and a more equal 
distribution of the products of labor through the public 
collective ownership of land and capital (as distinguished 
from property), and the public collective management of 
all industries." Under such a regime, private personal 
property would still exist, but no individual ownership 
of land, or manufacturing plants. The objections to 
such a scheme are many and decisive, but cannot be 
stated here at length. In general they are the same, 
moral as well as economic, as those we have just alleged 

WIL. AM. CIT. — 5 



66 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE 

against any governmental action, though, when applied 
to such an extreme extent, their force is so enhanced 
that to the minds of most persons they are absolutely 
overwhelming. 

Communism is the name for the still more radical 
scheme, according to which all property, land, machin- 
ery, other instruments of production and private goods 
as well, are owned in common ; and in which all indi- 
viduals are rewarded alike for their work, irrespective 
of capacity ; it is, in fact, a scheme for the abolition of 
all private property. In general, communistic schemes 
call for the destruction of the family and of the church 
as well. 



CHAPTER VI 

FORMS OF GOVERNMENTS 

Introductory. — To the student nothing is more inter- 
esting and instructive than to trace how, as tribes and 
nations have progressed in civilization, government has 
advanced in its development ; how, — as men have pro- 
gressed, first from the condition of savage hunters to 
that of roving feeders of flocks, then to tillers of the soil 
with fixed places of abode, and, finally, to builders of 
cities teeming with trade, commerce, and manufactures 
— their mutual duties and common interests have be- 
come more and more important and numerous, and gov- 
ernment, as controlling these interests and duties, has 
developed in form and improved in structure until it 
has become an all-powerful, complex machine, controll- 
ing in many ways the actions and lives of its citizens. 
For thousands of years, governments have been de- 
veloping and changing in form and functions, and a 
very large part of the history of the nations of the 
globe is identified with the history of the development 
and changes of their governments. As new conditions 
and needs have arisen, governments have adapted them- 
selves to them. In some cases this has been done 
peacefully, as in England, and in others, violently, by 
revolutionary means, as in France. In some cases, 

67 



68 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE 

functions previously exercised have been relinquished, 
in others, new powers have been assumed ; but in the 
majority of cases, the change has been merely in the 
manner of exercising this or that power. 

All peoples have not the same characteristics, nor 
have they developed under the same conditions of cli- 
mate, soil, or situation. Different nations have, there- 
fore, developed for themselves different forms of 
government. Yet these governments, however differ- 
ent in their structures and administration, are in all 
cases distinctly referable to four well-defined types, 
known by the following names : monarchy, aristocracy, 
democracy, and republic. 

Monarchy. — A monarchy is a nation at whose head 
is a personal ruler, called king, emperor, czar, etc., 
who has control of the government, appoints the prin- 
cipal officers of state, and to whom, in theory at least, 
these appointees are responsible for their actions. 
Thus England, Germany, Spain, Italy, Sweden, and 
others are monarchies. The sovereign holds his posi- 
tion for life, and usually acquires his throne by inheri- 
tance. The amount of power actually exercised, and 
the responsibility borne by the sovereign, vary widely 
in different countries, and upon the basis of these dif- 
ferences monarchical forms of government are classified 
under the two heads, absolute and limited. 

Absolute Monarchy. — An absolute monarchy is one 
in which the sovereign or ruler is possessed of supreme 
power and authority, and controls absolutely, without 
limitation or interference, all the powers of the govern- 
ment. His word is law, and does not require the sane- 



FORMS OF GOVERNMENTS 69 

tion of the people. His commands are absolute, and 
do not require the formality of judicial procedure, and 
are not necessarily in conformity with existing laws. 
Implicit obedience to his commands, however arbitrary, 
may be demanded, and there is no appeal. These are, 
theoretically, the powers of the absolute monarch. 
Practically, however, he is constrained to keep within 
fair bounds of justice and good policy, lest his subjects 
be goaded to rebellion and revolution. The absolute 
form of monarchy exists to-day in Russia and Turkey. 

Limited Monarchy. — A limited monarchy is one in 
which the ruler, though at the head of the government, 
is not absolute, but is limited in his powers by the 
action of a body of men, selected by the people, who 
make the laws by which the nation is to be governed. 
The respective rights and powers of the sovereign and 
of the lawmaking body, are determined by a collec- 
tion of rules, written or unwritten, collectively known 
as the constitution. The constitution contains the fun- 
damental law of the land. All acts of the government, 
to be valid, must be constitutional ; that is to say, in 
conformity with the rules laid down in the constitution. 
For this reason, limited monarchies are known also by 
the name of constitutional monarchies. 

England is the most conspicuous example of a limited 
or constitutional monarchy. In view of our former 
connection with her, and the extent to which we have 
derived our ideas of government from her political 
institutions, it will be of great assistance to us to con- 
sider her government, before proceeding to a study of 
our own. 



70 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE 

The sovereign of England is termed King or Queen. 
Originally possessed of almost absolute power, the Eng- 
lish. ruler, at the present day, possesses very little actual 
power and influence, much less, in fact, than the people 
of the United States have entrusted to their President. 
The constitutional history of England is largely the 
narrative of the successive steps by which the people 
have wrested from royal hands and taken under their 
own control, the powers of government. 

The rights of the English people in the participation 
of their own government are not contained in a written 
document, such as we possess in our Constitution, but 
rest upon established custom and precedent, and various 
charters wrested from their kings. 

The English Parliament, or, to speak more exactly, 
the lower branch of the Parliament, called the House 
of Commons, rules the English people. The Parlia- 
ment, or lawmaking branch of the English government, 
is divided into two houses, — the House of Lords and 
the House of Commons. The House of Lords is, as 
its name denotes, composed mainly of members of the 
noble families of England, who owe their seats in that 
body to the chance of birth. Theoretically possessed 
of powers of legislation equal to those exercised by 
the lower and larger branch (the Commons), the Lords 
have in reality but a small voice in the control of public 
affairs. 

The House of Commons is composed of members 
elected by the people. In this body reside almost all 
the powers of government. Its acts require the assent 
of the House of Lords and of the King, but this assent is 



FORMS OF GOVERNMENTS 7 1 

almost wholly formal, and seldom refused. The sphere 
of legislation allowed the English Parliament is un- 
limited, differing in this respect fundamentally from our 
Congress, which is limited in its legislative field by the 
Constitution. From the English Parliament is selected 
the "Cabinet," consisting of the principal executive 
officials, who guide the legislature, and at the same 
time conduct the executive affairs of the nation. The 
chief of these, termed Prime Minister, is appointed by 
the King from the party in the majority in the House 
of Commons. He in turn selects the remaining mem- 
bers of that Cabinet. These are responsible to that 
body for all their actions, and retain their offices only 
so long as they retain the confidence and good-will of 
the Commons. 

Aristocracy. — An aristocracy is a government in the 
hands of a select few, called the aristocracy. There 
are to-day no aristocratic governments proper, though 
many nations exhibit aristocratic tendencies. In nearly 
all of the European countries, one branch, at least, of 
the legislatures is composed of members holding their 
seats on account of noble birth, thus admitting the 
aristocratic element. 

Democracy. — A pure democracy is a government in 
which all the people rule directly, meeting in popular 
assemblies in which is determined by the votes of the 
majority how the government is to be administered. 
This political form is obviously possible only in very 
small communities. Several of the Grecian states once 
governed themselves after this manner. No perfect ex- 
ample of a nation with this form of control can be said 



72 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE 

to exist at the present time. The nearest approach to 
it is found in certain cantons of Switzerland. The Ro- 
man historian, Tacitus, tells us that the early Germans 
governed themselves in a purely democratic manner, 
and the first governments of several of our American 
colonies were of the democratic type. When we come 
to the study of local governments in the United States, 
we shall see also that the democratic form is followed 
in the New England town meetings. 

Republic. — Two terms which are frequently used as 
synonymous with democracy are republic and popular 
government. Strictly speaking, however, a republic, 
or, as it is often termed, a democratic-republic, is a 
democracy adapted to the government of a large nation 
by the introduction of the representative principle. 

Under this form of control the people rule them- 
selves, not directly as in a pure democracy, but through 
agents or representatives of their own selection. The 
participation of the people in a republic consists merely 
in the choice of officers to represent them and to carry 
out their wishes. Hence this political form is also 
termed a representative government, or representative 
democracy. 

It is to be observed that the principle of representa- 
tion of the people by elective officers may exist in other 
than republican governments. For example, in all of 
the limited monarchies of Europe at least a portion of 
the members of the lawmaking bodies are elected 
by the people. But that which distinguishes the repub- 
lic from all other forms is that the chief executive and 
all of the members of the legislature are elected, and 



FORMS OF GOVERNMENTS 



73 



all other governmental officers hold their positions by 
appointment by these, for limited periods of time, and 
not by virtue of birth or other right. 

Popular Government. — Popular government, like rep- 
resentative government, does not designate a form dis- 
tinct from monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy, but is 
the term used to describe a form of political control in 
which the people as a whole have a considerable influ- 
ence in the direction of political affairs. Thus a given 
government is more or less " popular," according to the 
degree to which, to use President Lincoln's famous 
phrase, '* government of the people, by the people and 
for the people " is realized. Thus arises the distinction 
between free and despotic governments, the former in- 
dicating one in which the will of the , people controls 
their rulers; the latter, one in which those in power 
may direct their action with but little reference to the 
wishes or welfare of their subjects. 

A republic or a democracy is a popular government, 
but the popular element may be very pronounced in 
monarchies as well, as, for example, in England. In 
that country, as has been said, though the nominal 
executive head, the King or Queen, gains the right 
to the throne practically through hereditary descent, 
and the members of one of the branches of the legis- 
lature, the House of Lords, rest their right to member- 
ship, for the most part, upon birth, yet, as a matter 
of fact, all the real governing power is in the hands of 
the House of Commons, the members of which are 
elected by the people. 

In all of the civilized states of the world popular 



74 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE 

government has made great strides during the nine- 
teenth century, but nowhere has this movement advanced 
further (Switzerland possibly excepted) than in our own 
country. Here all the chief public officials are not 
only elected by the people, but their terms of ofBce are 
made so short, that, in order to retain their positions, it 
is necessary for them constantly to bear in mind the 
wishes of the people. By controlling the election of 
public officials, it is also easy for the people to dictate 
what public policies shall be pursued. This they can 
do simply by nominating and electing only those per- 
sons who are known to favor the measures desired. 
Thus, at almost every point, the will of the people in 
the United States is finally the real directive force in 
the state. It is well, therefore, to consider some of the 
peculiarly grave duties and responsibilities which this 
form of government throws upon its officials and upon 
its citizens. Many of these duties, together with the 
corresponding problems to which they give rise, will be 
mentioned in connection with the description of the 
government of the United States which will be given 
in Part II of this book. But here we wish to speak 
simply of a few general matters. 

First of all there is to be emphasized the vital neces- 
sity which exists under a popular government for a 
wide diffusion both of knowledge and of honesty among 
the people. The decisive point in the success of a 
government such as ours, necessarily lies in the quality 
of its voting citizens. Of what use is it to devise per- 
fect governmental forms and methods of procedure, if 
their functions and aims are not properly directed, and 



FORMS OF GOVERNMENTS 75 

if those who are selected to operate them are not honest 
and intellectually qualified for the task ? This neces- 
sity for enlightenment and honesty among the masses 
arises from several facts. In the first place, it is the 
people who ultimately control the destinies of the state, 
and it is by them and from their midst that they who 
exercise the public functions are chosen. In the second 
place, a popular government is a form of government 
much more complex and difficult of administration than 
is one in which the political power is largely concen- 
trated in the hands of a few persons or of a single 
individual, and, therefore, aside from all other consid- 
erations, the practical problems to be met and solved 
by a popular government are especially numerous and 
peculiarly difficult. How numerous and how difficult 
they are will partially appear from the following pages 
of this book. Forewarned is forearmed, and thus a 
knowledge of what the dangers and defects of our 
government are, will be valuable as a preparation for 
American citizenship. 

A second observation to be made of all popular gov- 
ernments in general is, that they need for their success- 
ful operation a substantial social and economic equality. 
Popular government necessarily means government by 
parties, and the existence of great inequalities of wealth 
and social standing is sure to lead to unjust class legis- 
lation. It may not be the duty of the state directly 
to increase the equal distribution of property, but it 
may properly abolish all artificial distinctions of rank 
and privilege. All persons should be equal in point 
of law; the burdens of taxation should be justly dis- 



j6 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE 

tributed; the same opportunities for advancement should 
be offered to all ; and, indirectly, the state may, by cer- 
tain kinds of legislation, render it easier for those who 
are without much means to compete with their more 
fortunate fellow men for a share in the good things of 
this world. But certainly, above all, it behooves the 
lawmaker in a democracy to refuse his assent to any 
measure which will tend to increase inequality. 

In the third place, a popular government is especially 
apt to be led into ill-advised socialistic extensions of its 
functions. Since the masses represent power, and the 
poor and incapable constitute a considerable portion 
of them, there is a constant pressure brought to bear 
upon the government to undertake some measure for 
their betterment. 

Still another difficulty against which the popularly 
organized government has especially to contend, is that 
while it, more than any other political form, needs for 
its successful operation an exact and rigid enforcement 
of the law, there is a constant timidity on the part of 
its officials, that arises from the fear of displeasing the 
people, their master. In cases of riots and popular 
disturbances generally, in which the law of the land is 
violated, there is thus always a greater difficulty in 
securing prompt and decisive action for the complete 
enforcement of law in a popular state, than there is in 
obtaining similar action from a more absolutely organ- 
ized political power. Whether or not in the present 
state of society the lower classes have secured to them 
by the law their full share of justice, it is earnestly 
maintained that nowhere is it more essential than in the 



FORMS OF GOVERNMENTS 77 

democratic state that there should be an exact and com- 
plete enforcement of the law, whatever it may be. If 
the law be out of date or in any way obviously unjust, 
nothing will more surely secure its repeal than the 
odium that will attach to it from its rigid enforcement. 
But as long as it is law, it should be treated as such. 
A tolerated violation of it will inevitably weaken the 
law-abiding sentiment of the community, and it is hardly 
possible to conceive of a case in which the immediate 
benefit to be derived from the disregard of a legal rule 
will not be far outweighed by the ultimate disadvan- 
tages that would follow. The law-abiding habit of the 
Anglo-Saxon race has been its greatest glory, and to 
that feeling alone is due the success that it has achieved 
in its various homes in the establishment and mainte- 
nance of democratic government. 

Hence arises a vital necessity in a popular govern- 
ment for an intelligent and, above all, independent 
judiciary; that is, for a judiciary independent not only 
of the legislative and executive branches, but of popular 
influences and control. The tendency apparent during 
recent years in various of the states of the United 
States to render their judiciaries elective in character, 
whereby they have been deprived of the former inde- 
pendence which had been secured to them by fixed 
salaries and life terms or long terms of office, is one 
that cannot be too strongly deprecated. 

The foregoing considerations show us that for the 
successful establishment and maintenance of democratic 
government there is necessary a disposition on the part 
of the people not only to refuse submission to a re- 



78 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE 

straint that is arbitrary and oppressive, but likewise a 
willingness to yield to self-control. They must be able 
to draw the distinction between public liberty and pri- 
vate license, between manly self-dependence and indi- 
vidual lawlessness. 

It is not to be thought from what we have said that 
popular or democratic government is inferior to other 
forms. On the contrary, despite its difficulties and 
defects, which it is essential that we should know, in 
order to avoid or correct them when possible, govern- 
ment by the people stands, as a whole, the first of all 
forms in point of excellence. Its essential features of 
superiority lie : first, in the guaranty that the wishes 
of the people at large will be consulted and considered ; 
and secondly, in the educational influence which such 
a form of government necessarily exercises. 

In the more absolute forms of government there is 
afforded neither encouragement nor reason for the 
interest of the general mass of the people in public 
affairs, and hence for the formation of intelligent opin- 
ions regarding public administration; nor are there 
provided means for its effective expression, if formu- 
lated. Indeed, if the autocratic government be tyran- 
nical as well, it is to the interest of the government that 
the formation of an enlightened public opinion should 
be positively discouraged and prevented. In popular 
governments, on the other hand, not only are the means 
provided for, and encouragement given to, a wide public 
interest in political matters, but the very enjoyment of 
political privileges by the people furnishes a most effi- 
cient means for their still greater education. Lastly, 



FORMS OF GOVERNMENTS 79 

the manly self-control which democracy teaches, stamps 
it as the best type of political order that advancing civ- 
ilization has thus far disclosed. Popular government is 
one which presupposes a high morality, an advanced 
state of education, a great degree of self-control, a con- 
siderable amount of material and social equality, and, 
above all, the active and disinterested participation of 
the wisest and best of its citizens in its political life. 
When these conditions are obtained, it contains within 
itself the greatest possibilities of beneficent action, and 
the highest hopes of human progress. 

Constitutional Government — Those general principles 
upon which a government rests, which determine what 
legislative, executive, and judicial organs shall exist, by 
what persons they shall be filled, what shall be their 
respective powers, and in what manner such powers 
shall be exercised, — such principles, taken collectively, 
are termed the state's constitution. 

In the above sense every state has a constitution, and 
its government is therefore a constitutional one. But 
in the strictest and most usual meaning which is given 
to the term, constitutional government means that form 
of government in which those who have the exercise of 
the political authority are definitely limited by well- 
established laws as to the extent of their authority and 
the manner of its exercise, and thus the people are pro- 
tected against arbitrary and oppressive conduct on the 
part of their rulers. In general, these constitutional 
principles are reduced to formal v/ritten statements 
and embodied in a single document, but this is not 
absolutely necessary. England, for instance, is a 



80 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE 

constitutional monarchy without a written constitu- 
tion. 

The essence of constitutional government is, then, 
the strict legal accountability of public officials for the 
manner in which their public authority is exercised. 
According to this, no private individual can have a 
legal cause of complaint against any government offi- 
cial for any act which such official may commit in the 
performance of the duties or the exercise of the rights 
given him by law. But the moment such an official 
steps beyond these limits, he becomes personally re- 
sponsible for anything which he may do. If it be an 
act of violence, he may be punished as a criminal ; if it 
be an injury to one's property, he may be held pecun- 
iarily liable for it. In most of the countries of Europe, 
complaints against public officials are tried in special 
courts termed administrative courts ; but in England, 
and in our own country, it is our pride to say that all 
persons, government officials and private individuals 
alike, are tried by the same courts and by the same 
law. 

In former times, indefiniteness of authority, and irre- 
sponsibility of those in power for the manner in which 
their duties were performed, were the rule in almost all 
states. Between the governing and the governed an 
unbridged chasm existed, and an apparent as well as 
an actual conflict of interests. The government was 
not considered as an organ of the state, to be used 
for the good of the whole people, but as an instrument 
for the advancement of the interests and ambitions of 
those to whose hands its administration chanced to be 



FORMS OF GOVERNMENTS 8 1 

committed. Such a condition as this could persist only 
in the absence of popular enlightenment. 

With the spread of popular education there began, 
therefore, an increased demand on the part of the peo- 
ple for rights of participation in their own governments, 
and for some guaranties that their interests would be 
considered in the exercise of the political power. When 
these demands were not granted by those in power, vio- 
lent revolutions resulted, such as that in France at the 
close of the eighteenth century. At the present day, 
either through such revolutions, or through timely con- 
cessions by rulers, the principle of legal responsibility 
of those in power for all public acts, and the exact de- 
termination of the scope of their respective powers, has 
everywhere gained the day among civilized nations. In 
fact, the progress of popular and constitutional govern- 
ment has gone hand in hand, for the recognition by the 
people of their natural and reasonable right to determine 
their own political destinies has resulted first, in their 
demanding a right to participate in government either 
directly, or indirectly, by electing representatives, which 
has led to popular government; second, in a fixing of 
definite limits to the authority of public officials, whether 
elected or otherwise, which has led to constitutional, 
or, as it is often otherwise termed, responsible govern- 
ment. 

Checks and Balances in Government. — One might 
think that when once the principle was established and 
put into practice, that government is but the instrument 
of the state, and that its powers are to be exercised 
directly or indirectly by the people generally, and in 

WIL. AM. CIT. — 6 



82 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE 

their own behalf, then the struggle for good govern- 
ment would be successfully ended. But this is not so. 
Paradoxical as it may seem, the people need to be pro- 
tected almost as much against themselves and their own 
representatives as against irresponsible rulers. 

It is found by experience that it is a natural tendency 
and desire of those in power to extend their authority 
to its utmost limit, and that if too much authority be 
given to any one official, he will be able either to use 
his power corruptly and oppressively without danger 
of being brought to account, or he will be sufficiently 
strong to seize absolute control of the government, 
disregard all constitutional limitations, and transform 
himself into a despot. Furthermore, it has been dem- 
onstrated that lawmaking bodies, even though elected 
by the people, and responsible to them, and actuated 
by good intentions, cannot always be trusted to act 
wisely. There is always the danger, either that sudden 
passions or prejudices of a moment will urge an assem- 
bly to precipitate measures which are destructive to the 
welfare of the state, or that it may be controlled by a 
particular political party so incensed against its oppo- 
nents as to be led to enact measures which are unjust 
and oppressive to those not in power. 

For these two reasons, — the danger of despotism, and 
of hasty, unwise legislation on the part of the legislator, — 
there have been introduced in all modern constitutional 
governments systems of what are called ''checks and 
balances." According to these, the several legislative, 
executive, and judicial functions of government are 
distributed among distinct organs, and thus the legisla- 



FORMS OF GOVERNMENTS 83 

ture is made a check upon the executive and vice versa^ 
and the judiciary upon both. Furthermore, the legisla- 
tive body is usually divided into two chambers, and the 
chief public officials are elected for only short terms of 
office so that if their official conduct be not satisfactory 
to the people, they will fail of renomination and reelec- 
tion. Finally, in cases of gross dereliction of duty, 
officials may be impeached, and removed from office 
before the expiration of their terms ; and, if they have 
been guilty of any crime, may be then tried and pun- 
ished by a criminal court. 

To illustrate the manner in which the people protect 
themselves against possible usurpation or hasty action 
on the part of the rulers which they have themselves 
elected, we may point out some of the checks and 
balances in our own government. Here, as we shall 
find, in order that a proposal shall become a law, it is 
necessary that it should obtain a threefold approval, 
namely, of a majority of the two houses of legislature, 
and of the President. The refusal of the President 
to approve of an enactment of Congress, which is 
called the " veto," may, however, be overridden by a 
subsequent vote by two thirds of the members of both 
houses of the legislature. But even when this gantlet 
has been successfully run, a given law is still subject 
to another check ; that is, it may be declared unconsti- 
tutional by the courts. 

By unconstitutional is meant, as the word indicates, 
not in accordance with the Constitution upon which our 
government rests. In adopting this Constitution in 
1789 there were several objects in view. First, there 



84 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE 

was, as we shall see in a later chapter, the purpose of 
providing a definite basis upon which the individual 
states of our Union should be joined into a whole. 
Second, there was the necessity for stating in outline 
the manner in which the national government should 
be organized. And third, the point of importance 
in connection with our explanation of the term " un- 
constitutional," there was the idea of stating specifi- 
cally just what powers the national Congress should 
have, what powers the individual state legislatures 
should possess, and what neither of them should 
enjoy. The Constitution itself provides that " This 
Constitution and the laws of the United States which 
shall be made in pursuance thereof, and all treaties 
made, or which shall be made, under the authority of 
the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land." 
Hence it follows, that if any law be passed either by 
Congress or a state legislature which concerns a matter 
over which Congress or the state legislature has not 
been given control by the Constitution, it is a violation 
of that instrument, and, since the Constitution is de- 
clared to be the supreme law of the land, if any 
question be made by any private person as to the con- 
stitutionality of a given law, he may carry a case to the 
courts, and there, if it be determined to be as he alleges, 
it will be declared to be invalid and not to be enforced. 
Constitutional Amendments. — It is expressly provided 
by the Constitution that none of its provisions shall be 
changed or altered except in the way prescribed, and 
this way has been made very difficult. Although an 
ordinary law may be changed or repealed by a simple 



FORMS OF GOVERNMENTS 85 

majority vote in Congress and the approval of the 
President, as has been already described, in the case 
of an amendment of the Constitution, the following 
mode is prescribed by its Fifth Article : 

*'The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses 
shall deem it necessary, shall propose amendments to 
this Constitution, or, on the application of the legisla- 
tures of two thirds of the several states, shall call a 
convention for proposing amendments, which, in either 
case, shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as part 
of this Constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of 
three fourths of the several states, or by conventions 
in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode 
of ratification may be proposed by the Congress." 

Thus, as we see, an amendment may be proposed in 
two ways, — by a two-thirds vote of both houses of 
Congress, or at the request of two thirds of the state 
legislatures. These conditions of proposal having been 
fulfilled, the amendment may be ratified and become a 
part of the Constitution only by a favorable vote in 
three fourths of the state legislatures, or by a like vote 
of three fourths of the conventions in the states, if that 
has been the mode of ratification which has been 
selected. The only limitation upon the amending power 
is that no state shall be deprived without its consent 
of its equal representation in the Senate, 

The idea of making the conditions of amendment so 
difficult has been to give to the government a stability 
of organization which it otherwise would not have. At 
the same time, by rendering it impossible for either 
Congress or the state legislatures to extend their power 



86 INTRODUCTION TO POLlTlCAi: SCIENCE 

except by a constitutional amendment, these restrictions 
are made to constitute the most important of all the 
checks upon the popular will. While they do not abso- 
lutely prevent any change, they yet provide a guaranty 
that existing conditions shall not be lightly and incon- 
siderately altered. Before a change can be made, there 
must be an overwhelming desire for it on the part of the 
people, as evidenced in a two-thirds vote in Congress 
or of the state legislatures in proposing it, and a three- 
fourths vote in ratification thereof. 

It is not too much to say that the amending clause 
is the most important clause in a written constitution. 
Change must be rendered possible in order to meet the 
demands of national development ; but it must be made 
neither too easy nor too difficult. When rendered too 
difficult, revolution, that is, illegal change, is encour- 
aged. When made too easy, the stability and continu- 
ity of the political life of the state is at the mercy 
of every whim or passion. Just how severe these re- 
strictions should be is one of the gravest problems 
which statesmen have to solve, for no fixed rule can 
be given. In each case the answer depends upon the 
temperament of the people and a multitude of other 
considerations. In periods of a state's existence when 
social and industrial conditions are rapidly changing, 
there is a necessity for greater ease of amendment 
than when conditions are more stable. In England 
there is nothing but tradition and custom to prevent 
the Parliament from passing any law it sees fit, 
whether to regulate some new matter, or to alter the 
existing organization of the government. In past 



FORMS OF GOVERNMENTS 8/ 

years, when England's conditions changed so rapidly, 
and when her suffrage was not widely extended, this 
unrestricted power of her legislature was possibly a 
benefit, but in these days of democratic ignorance and 
unrest there are not a few who fear that she may be 
led to hasty and unwise acts ; that her ship of state will 
prove to be, as her historian, Macaulay, has expressed 
it, "all sail and no keel." 

Written constitutions generally exist upon the conti- 
nent of Europe, and their amendment is made more 
or less difficult. But none of them have nearly the 
restrictive force of our own, since, unlike us, their 
legislatures themselves decide whether or not their 
own acts are constitutional, and their decision cannot 
be questioned in the courts. Thus, without formally 
amending their constitutions, the legislatures are able, 
by construing them as they see fit, to exercise nearly 
unlimited power. 

In the case of our own national Constitution, so diffi- 
cult has amendment been made that it has only been 
due to very exceptional circumstances that its alteration 
has ever been secured. The first ten amendments were 
adopted almost immediately after the Constitution itself 
went into force, and, indeed, it was generally under- 
stood at the time when the consent of the states to the 
ratification of the main instrument was obtained, that 
such addition should be made as these amendments 
contained. The Eleventh Amendment was adopted in 
1798 to prevent suits by private individuals against a 
state. The Twelfth Amendment was ratified in 1804 
to correct the method of election of the President and 



88 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE 

Vice President. Since that time, now nearly one hun- 
dred years, no new amendments have been made, or 
even seriously proposed, except those which were made 
necessary by the result of the Civil War of 1861-65. 

Concerning the provisions of these last amendments, 
and of the Eleventh and Twelfth, we shall speak later 
on. The first ten amendments were all of the same 
character. Together they constitute a ''bill of rights." 
By a bill of rights is meant a list of those rights or 
privileges which are guaranteed to private individuals 
against control or violation by ordinary law. Congress 
has been absolutely prohibited from passing any law 
interfering with the free exercise by citizens of any 
of the rights enumerated in these first ten amendments. 



CHAPTER VII 

LAW^ 

Introductory. — We have defined the state as society 
viewed from its organized standpoint ; that is, con- 
sidered in its political aspect as an organization for 
the attainment of peace in the first place, of protec- 
tion from outside in the second place, and, thirdly, for 
the general regulation of those matters which for the 
general good should be controlled by society as a 
whole, and not left to individual ignorance, neglect, 
or injustice. Now, in order to perform these duties, it 
is necessary for the state to issue commands, termed 
laws, and in the aggregate they constitute what is 
termed "the law of the land." It is in accordance with 
these commands that the courts render their decisions 
in the cases which are brought before them. 

In defining law as a command of the state, it is 
to be understood that not all laws are to be found in 
the definite enactment of the legislature of the state, 
but that many of them have their original source in 
customs which are recognized by the courts as binding. 
As being thus recognized by the tribunals of the state, 

1 In the preparation of this chapter, the author has been greatly assisted 
by the admirable book of Professor W. C. Robinson, entitled " Elementary 
Law." The quotations which have been indicated are from that work. 

89 



go INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE 

and enforced by its executive agents, these rules are 
considered as impliedly commanded by the state, that 
is, adopted by it as its own. In very early periods, 
custom was almost the sole source of new laws, but in 
modern times new laws owe their origin almost entirely 
to definite statutory enactments. 

When all the existing laws of a given country are 
gathered into a single volume or set of volumes, the 
aggregate is termed a code. Such codes exist in many 
of our own individual states; and the "revised statutes" 
of the United States, in which are contained all of the 
federal laws in force in the United States, may possibly 
be termed a federal code. 

Laws may be divided into several different classes, 
according to the subjects with which they deal. Thus, 
in the first place, they may be divided into public and 
private. 

Public Law. — Public laws include all those laws that 
relate directly either to the organization and powers of 
the government, or to the relations of the individual 
to the state. Private laws refer to those rules which 
regulate the relations of individuals among themselves. 
These two main divisions may be also subdivided. Thus, 
public law embraces: (i) international law; (2) consti- 
tutional law; (3) administrative law; and, according to 
some writers, (4) criminal law. 

Of the general scope and character of international 
law, we have already spoken. It governs the relations 
of states among themselves, and thus is distinguished 
from national or municipal law, which is uttered and 
enforced by a particular state, and has no binding force 



LAW 91 

except over the citizens of that state and over the aliens 
residing within its territory. Because international law 
lacks definite statement, does not emanate from one 
superior political power, and has not courts for its 
precise interpretation and application, as has ordinary 
law, there are many who are disposed to deny that it 
has a just title to be called law at all. But inasmuch 
as it is universally recognized as binding by civilized 
nations, and is in general strictly enforced and obeyed, 
for the purposes of this book we need not refuse it its 
customary name. 

Of the character of constitutional law, the second 
subclass of public law, we have already spoken. Ad- 
ministrative law, which is the third subclass, resembles 
constitutional law in that it has to do with the organiza- 
tion and duties of the government, but is distinguished 
from it in that it deals with the details of governmental 
action, whereas constitutional law states the general 
principles, and also, in that, though limited by constitu- 
tional law, it is not embodied in the written constitution, 
and its specific provisions may therefore be altered or 
abolished by simple legislative act. Administrative law 
frequently takes the form of ordinances or particular 
directions issued by a chief governmental official, or by a 
local governmental authority, such as of a city or county. 

Of criminal law, which is the last subdivision of pub- 
lic law, we shall speak more particularly presently. Its 
claim to be treated as a part of public law rests upon 
the fact that when violated the state appears as one 
of the parties, that is, as the prosecuting party in the 
trials which follow. 



-92 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE 

Private Law. — Private law is in turn divisible into 
distinct branches according to its subject matter. It 
thus includes : 

1. The law of real property, or that which regulates 
the use and methods of transference of real estate, such 
as lands, houses, etc. 

2. The law of personal property, including all forms 
of property not real estate. 

3. Contract law, regulating the making and enforce- 
ment of all kinds of agreements. 

4. Laws regulating domestic relations, such as those 
of parent and child, husband and wife, guardian and 
ward, master and servant, etc. 

5. Commercial law, governing all kinds of commercial 
transactions, such as those involved in notes and bills, 
banking, etc. 

All of the above branches of law are termed civil 
laws, as distinguished from laws termed criminal, which 
define and fix penalties for offenses against the state. 

Those laws which determine the modes by which 
trials in court are conducted are called laws of practice 
and procedure. 

Distinction between Law and Equity. — In our country 
there is a distinction made between two classes of civil 
disputes, that is, between cases " at law " and cases '' in 
equity"; and for the trial and adjudication of these 
two kinds of suits distinct methods of procedure exist, 
and, in general, different courts. The phrases ''cases 
at law " and '* cases in equity " require some explana- 
tion, for the words "law" and "equity" have special 
meanings when used in this connection. 



LAW 



93 



Both cases at law and cases in equity are law cases 
in the sense of involving the application of law to the 
points in dispute. In both of them, also, equity, in the 
sense of justice, is meted out to the parties involved. 
But in former times, in England, from whence w^e have 
derived much of our law as well as our methods of 
municipal administration, there was some reason for 
terming certain cases "equity cases" as distinguished 
from ''suits at law." In those days there were definite 
forms in accordance with which alone disputes could 
be considered and determined by the courts. But in 
time, owing to changed conditions, these forms became 
inappropriate to many new controversies which arose, 
and in order to administer justice in these new causes, 
new courts were established and new methods gradually 
adopted. Inasmuch as these courts were created for; the 
purpose of securing equity or justice in those matters 
in which it could not be obtained in the old law courts, 
they gained the name of courts of equity, and the laws 
which they enforced were called equity laws. Thus 
in our time we still retain the old names "law" and 
" equity " in distinguishing the two systems of courts 
and procedures, although there is no longer any dis- 
tinction as to the amount of equity, i.e. justice, granted ; 
nor does one enforce law any more or less than the 
other. 

Besides law courts and equity courts, there are two 
other classes of courts. First, maritime or admiralty 
courts, which apply the rules governing property or 
transactions relating to the sea or navigable rivers ; 
and secondly, probate and orphans' courts, which have 



94 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE 

to do with the proving and execution of wills and the 
protection of the property of orphans. 

It will be impossible to state here exactly the rules 
for determining when a suit is to be brought into a court 
of law, and when into a court of equity, for these involve 
distinctions upon which many volumes have been writ- 
ten. But in general it may be said that law cases are 
those in which suit is brought for the recovery of a 
specific sum of money, as upon a contract or a promis- 
sory note, or for payment for any article sold or serv- 
ices rendered, or for the settlement of the legal title to 
a particular piece of property, or for money compensa- 
tion (termed damages) for some act complained of, as, 
for example, against a railroad company for an injury 
received through some fault of one of its employees, or 
against an individual for defamation of character, or for 
an injury to a piece of property by the wrongful act of 
another, as, for example, maiming a horse, injuring a 
building, etc. 

Cases in equity, on the other hand, are those in which 
there are complicated accounts to be settled, or where 
fraud or deceit is alleged, or where the specific perform- 
ance of a promise is asked, or where an order is asked 
from the court, termed an injunction, commanding that 
certain acts be not performed, or where relief is asked 
where mistakes have been made, or, finally, where any 
questions have arisen under what are called mortgages 
or trusts or liens. 

Judicial Procedure. — In cases at law the person who 
makes complaint, that is, who brings the suit, is termed 
the plaintiff, and the one against whom the suit is 



LAW 95 

brought, the defendant. In cases in equity, the for- 
mer is termed the complainant, and the latter the 
defendant. 

The essential difference in the methods of trial of 
law and equity cases is that in law cases there is a jury 
of twelve men selected from the vicinity to decide the 
facts, while the judge who presides determines the law 
which is applicable ; while in equity cases the judge 
decides both law and facts, and there is no jury. Also 
in law cases the witnesses give their evidence in open 
court before the judge and jury, while in equity cases, 
the evidence, or proof, is usually taken in the office of 
the lawyers engaged in the suits, which, when reduced 
to writing, is termed ''depositions," and upon trial is 
read in court to the judge, or printed and given him to 
read, or both. 

In all lawsuits, whether at law or in equity, the first 
thing to do in beginning proceedings is to determine 
what court has jurisdiction of the subject matter. This 
depends either upon the residence of the parties to the 
suit, or upon the location of the property that is in- 
volved. The second step is for the plaintiff or com- 
plainant to file with the court his formal complaint, 
termed in law cases a "declaration," and in equity "a 
bill of complaint," or simply "bill," and to notify the 
defendant that suit has been brought against him. The 
defendant then replies or "answers," and sets up any 
defense which he may have to the claims made against 
him. The plaintiff may reply to this, and the defend- 
ant may again answer in turn until the exact points in 
controversy are determined. This stage in the process 



96 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE 

is termed ''pleading." The law case is then ready for 
trial ; but in a suit in equity the parties then proceed to 
take depositions in support of their respective claims, 
either by producing documents, or by examining wit- 
nesses who know of their own knowledge {i.e. not by 
hearing from others, which is termed ''hearsay," and 
not admissible as evidence). 

When all this evidence is taken, the equity case is 
ready for the trial in court, which consists simply of 
arguments before the judge as to the conclusions to be 
drawn from the facts which are presented, and as to the 
law which is applicable. 

All the evidence and documents in the case constitute 
the "record." In complicated cases of accounts the 
court refers the whole matter to skilled auditors or com- 
missioners who consider all the evidence, and render a 
report thereon. The parties to the suit then take such 
exceptions to this report as they see fit, and the case is 
argued in court simply in reference to the allowance or 
the overruling by the court of these exceptions which 
have been made. 

In the trial of a case at law, the procedure consists 
in the lawyers on both sides first stating to the court 
and jury the points which they expect to make. Then 
the witnesses on both sides are examined and cross- 
examined. This concluded, the lawyers, in the form 
of what are called "prayers," ask that the judge in- 
struct the jury that the law which is applicable is such 
and such. After argument upon these points, the judge 
grants such prayers as he sees fit, and, based upon them, 
instructs the jury as to the law by which they are to be 



LAW 97 

bound, and directs them that if they find the facts as 
based upon the given evidence to be so and so, they are 
to give a decision in favor of the plaintiff; or if they 
find the facts to be otherwise, then they are to decide 
in favor of the defendant. This decision is termed the 
verdict, and must be concurred in by all twelve of the 
jury. 

A decision once obtained, either in a law or equity 
case, the next step is for the defeated party, if he still 
thinks that he has a good case, to take an appeal to a 
higher court. In a law case this takes the form of an 
argument in the higher court — in which there is no 
jury — based upon the alleged errors committed by the 
judge of the lower court in any of his rulings either 
upon the admissibility or inadmissibility of evidence, or 
in his instructions to the jury, which alleged errors have 
been excepted to by the defeated party at the time made. 
Also the appeal may sometimes be made upon the 
ground that the verdict of the jury was directly con- 
trary to the evidence, or not supported by such evidence 
as would, to any reasonable man, be conceivably suffi- 
cient to support the conclusion arrived at. In general, 
however, a superior court will consider the judgment of 
the jury in the court below as to the facts, to be con- 
clusive, and will interpose its own opinion as to them 
only in very extreme cases where it is beyond all prob- 
ability that their verdict was a reasonable one. Where 
there is ground for reasonable doubt the judgment of 
the jury will not be reversed ; but if the superior court 
thinks that the judge has committed any material error 
in his statement of the law, a new trial is ordered in 

WIL. AM. CIT. — 7 



98 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE 

the lower court. Upon these points the higher court 
considers what is the true law, uninfluenced by the 
decision in the lower court. 

In the case of an appeal to a superior court in a suit 
in equity, the whole "record" goes up, and the trial is 
substantially similar to that held in the lower court. A 
final decision is given based upon all the merits of the 
case, instead of simply an order or refusal for a new 
trial as in the case of a suit at law. The only excep- 
tions to this are where an irregularity or impropriety 
has occurred in the lower court, or where new and 
material evidence has been discovered since the first 
trial. In such cases, a new trial in the lower court is 
sometimes ordered. 

As we shall see when we come to consider the sys- 
tems of courts in the United States, there are sometimes 
three or four grades of courts, and thus there may be 
an appeal from the second court to a third or fourth still 
higher tribunal, before a final decision is obtained. It 
is usual to fix a minimum to the amount of property 
which must be involved in a suit in order to permit its 
being appealed to the higher courts. 

Criminal Law. — It is usual to make a distinction 
between public and private illegalities. Private wrongs, 
as slander, breach of contract, etc., are acts that inter- 
fere with one's personal rights, and give the plaintiff a 
claim for money damages. Acts, usually attended by 
violence, which the law punishes by fines, imprison- 
ment, or death, are called public wrongs or crimes. 
Crimes of a serious nature are known as felonies, while 
those of a less grave character are designated as misde- 



LAW 99 

meanors. In a very true sense, however, all violations 
of the law, whether attended by civil or criminal conse- 
quences, are, in essence, public wrongs. 

As a distinguished writer upon law has said : " There is 
a sense in which all wrongs are public wrongs, since they 
involve an interruption of the duties of the subject to the 
state, or interfere with that protection which the state owes 
to the subject. But there are certain wrongs which do not 
terminate upon the individual whose property or person 
they assail, but reach through and beyond him to the 
social fabric of which he forms a part, and violate the 
peace and order of the state. Such wrongs contain an 
element of evil, which is wanting in the mere private 
interest. They strike at the foundations of all civil gov- 
ernment, and justly are regarded, by the law, as wrongs 
of a different nature, and as demanding a different 
redress." Thus a crime has been defined as '' an 
injury so atrocious in its nature, or so dangerous in its 
example, that, besides the loss that it occasions to the 
individual who suffers by it, it affects, in its immediate 
operation or in its consequence, the interest, the peace, 
the dignity, or the security of the public." 

The same act may often give rise both to civil and 
criminal consequences. For example, a railroad train 
may be run with such gross negligence that the engineer 
or conductor may be held to be criminally responsible 
for an injury caused by such negligence, and, at the 
same time, the person injured may have a right to claim 
money damages from the railroad company. 

Law and Morality. — Law and morality are closely 
related, but are not identical, morality being the broader 



1,00 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE 

term. Law simply commands those general actions 
which society as a whole declares to be right, and for- 
bids those which it declares to be wrong ; but from its 
very nature the state, go as far as it will, can make no 
pretense of controlling any but the outward acts of the 
individual, and only the more flagrant of those. The 
law may mark out the general legal obligations of the 
husband and father, but it cannot compel him to be a 
good husband or parent in the truest sense. Law nec- 
essarily has to be stated in the form of very general 
propositions. Furthermore, it has to depend wholly 
upon threats of physical pains and penalties or assess- 
ment of fines for its binding force, while true morality 
looks almost wholly to the motive which prompts an act, 
rather than to its consequences. Law thus necessarily 
has to appeal simply to the selfishness, that is, to the 
self-interest, of the would-be wrongdoer ; while morality 
finds its force in the sense of personal self-respect and 
the consciousness of the obhgation of duty in the breast 
of the individual. 

Since the law can govern only man's outward acts, 
it has to allot its punishments accordingly. It has not 
the means for discovering, with sufficient accuracy for 
practical purposes of punishment, men's motives, which 
constitute the precise element involved in duty and 
morality. In general, the law has to punish all acts of 
a given class with equal severity, the latitude of discre- 
tion which can safely be left to judges and juries being 
proportionate to the means which they have of discover- 
ing the true moral responsibility and guilt. 

The point especially to be emphasized here, in mak- 



LAW lOI 

ing the distinction between law and morality, is that the 
true citizen is to find the field of right and duty a far 
wider one than that of mere law. He is to obey the 
law in general, both' as a moral duty which he owes to 
himself, and as a social and civic duty which he owes 
to his fellow citizens. He is also to act justly, chari- 
tably, and honestly in a multitude of other acts which 
his conscience tells him are right, even though were he 
not to do so, he would be rendered liable to no civil or 
criminal penalties under the law. He is not to break 
a fair contract just because he knows that, owing to 
some circumstances, the one with whom he has cove- 
nanted will not be able to hold him to his promise in an 
action at law. He is not to indulge in business prac- 
tices which are sharp, when to do so simply shows upon 
his part an ability to gain an unjust advantage and yet 
keep beyond the clutches of the law. He is to be a 
good father, a good husband, a good son, and a good 
citizen in every respect, irrespective of the extent to 
which the law is able to compel him to be so. 

It is the policy of the state, and a very correct one 
too, to leave as much as possibly can be left to the indi- 
vidual morality of its citizens, rather than to extend the 
compulsion of the law ; for it need not be said that 
where there is freedom from coercion there is a greater 
feeling of self-responsibility, and hence the possibility of 
a higher and broader morality. Where men obey from 
necessity they are apt to forget the moral obligation. 

Criminal Responsibility. — The law cannot govern 
motives from the moral standpoint, but it does recog- 
nize the element of intention, as fixing responsibility. 



J 



102 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE 

Thus, in general, infants and insane and weak-minded 
persons are not responsible for their acts, for the reason 
that they are not held to be guilty of criminal intent. 
So also in many cases of accidents and of mistakes, 
absence of intent will relieve from responsibility. Like- 
wise an act done under compulsion will not be con- 
sidered criminal, although it would be criminal if freely 
performed. Ignorance of the law excuses no one. 
Every one is supposed to know what the law com- 
mands and forbids. But ignorance of fact will some- 
times excuse, as when a person, honestly and reasonably 
believing a certain state of affairs to exist, commits an 
act which would not be a crime if such a state did 
exist. In such case he is not held criminally liable if 
it should turn out that he was mistaken. It is to be 
emphasized, however, that his belief that the given facts 
are true must be one which is warranted by reason and 
good sense. 

Finally, in regard to criminal intent, it is to be 
observed that there are certain classes of acts the 
evil results of which are so apparent to any reason- 
able being, that, when committed, the law conclusively 
infers intent. That is, the one committing them is not 
allowed to show that he was thoughtless or negligent 
and had no evil intent. The acts are such that public 
policy demands that criminal responsibility be attached 
to them irrespective of intent. A man, for instance, 
cannot fire a pistol in a crowded street, or light a fire 
at the side of a house, and then contend that he did so 
without evil intent, or that he' did not think any harm 
would result. Even though he be able to support such 



LAW 103 

a contention by proof that no possible satisfaction or 
benefit could accrue to him from the evils which have 
resulted, he is presumed by the law to know what would 
be the probable results of his acts, and this presumption 
cannot be rebutted. 

In determining responsibility for crime, not only the 
one actually committing the wrongful act is held liable, 
but also those who assist or concur in any way in 
the deed, either before its commission, by advising, 
encouraging, or aiding, or after it, by concealing the 
criminal or failing to report knowledge of it. 

Felonies and Misdemeanors. — Crimes are divided 
accordinsf to their seriousness into felonies and misde- 

o 

meanors. Felonies include such crimes as murder, 
manslaughter, rape, arson, burglary, theft, etc., which 
are punishable by death or imprisonment in the peni- 
tentiary. Misdemeanors include such lesser offenses 
as maintaining nuisances, violating city ordinances, the 
lighter forms of assault, etc., and are punishable by 
fines, or short imprisonment in city lock-houses or 
county jails. 

There is one crime which is usually placed in a 
class by itself. This is treason. ''Treason is an act 
committed by the subject, in violation of the allegiance 
which binds him to the state. It is distinguished from 
all other crimes by this — that, whereas they attack 
primarily the property or person of an individual, or 
some single public interest, and, indirectly, if at all, 
affect the state, treason assails the state itself, and 
seeks to overthrow and destroy that political society 
which his allegiance obliges the subject to defend. 



104 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE 

Hence its name treason, denoting treachery and breach 
of faith, or that more expressive phrase which charac- 
terized it in the Roman law, criniefi laesae niajestatis, 
the crime of violated sovereignty." 

Formerly treason was construed to include many acts, 
but according to the Constitution of the United States 
this crime in this country is limited to levying war 
against the United States, adhering to its enemies, or 
giving them aid and comfort ; and for conviction there 
is required the testimony of at least two witnesses to 
the same overt act, or a confession in open court. 

Criminal Procedure. — The first step in bringing to 
punishment an offender against the criminal law is the 
arrest. This may be either without warrant, as where 
a crime is committed in the presence of the man making 
the arrest, or when he has good reason for believing 
that the man arrested is the one who is guilty of a 
crime that has been committed. In the above cases 
either a police officer or a private person may make 
the arrest. Or the arrest may be made by a warrant, 
which is a paper issued by a magistrate commanding 
an officer to arrest the man therein described, for 
alleged participation in a specified crime which has 
been committed. 

The prisoner being taken into custody, the next step 
is to bring him before the proper judge or magistrate. 
If that judge or magistrate has jurisdiction over the 
offense, there may be an immediate trial. If not, the 
prisoner is " committed " or sent to jail, there to await 
the action of the grand jury or trial before the proper 
court, unless he be released on bail. By bail is meant 



LAW 105 

a security of a certain amount of money given by friends 
of the accused, as a guaranty that he will present him- 
self in court for trial at the proper time, such amount 
of money to be forfeited to the state in case the one 
bailed does not appear. Failure to appear is termed 
"jumping bail." The amount of bail demanded is de- 
termined by the court. 

There are three ways in which one suspected of crime 
may be formally accused of the offense : by informa- 
tion, by indictment by a grand jury, and by present- 
ment. 

" An information is a written accusation, presented 
under oath, by a proper public prosecutor (prosecuting 
attorney, or district attorney, or county or common- 
wealth attorney) to a court having jurisdiction of the 
offense charged therein." This is the mode of pro- 
cedure followed in cases of small magnitude, though, 
in some states, it is used almost to the exclusion of 
every other. 

'* An indictment is a written accusation presented by 
a grand jury under oath, and upon the suggestion of 
the public prosecutor, to a court having jurisdiction of 
the offense charged therein." A grand jury consists 
of a number of men selected from the vicinity, whose 
duty it is, when assembled, to inquire into all offenses 
which have been committed in the district from which 
they have been selected, since the time of their last 
meeting. This is usually done by the public prosecutor 
drawing up indictments charging certain persons with 
particular crimes. The jury then examines all the 
evidence which can be obtained in support of these 



I06 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE 

charges, and if a majority of the jury think that there 
is sufficient evidence to justify them in ordering the 
arrest and trial of the accused ones, they give their 
assent to the indictments and return them as '' true- 
bills." Upon this, warrants are issued for the accused 
ones, if not already in custody. Where the evidence 
adduced before the grand jury does not seem to be 
sufficient to warrant an arrest and trial, the indictments 
are returned as "not-true-bills," and the accused ones, 
if already in custody, are released. 

A presentment is a written accusation presented by 
the grand jury upon its own motion, that is, without 
waiting for an indictment to be framed and presented 
by the public prosecutor. 

The presentation of the formal accusation against a 
suspected criminal may take place either before or after 
the suspected one has been taken in custody. If be- 
fore, a warrant is immediately issued for his apprehen- 
sion. In such cases, however, the warrant is termed a 
process. 

The conduct of a criminal trial much resembles that 
of a civil law suit. A public prosecutor appears as the 
plaintiff, and alleges the violation of a given law by the 
prisoner, who thus appears as defendant. The first 
step, which, however, does not appear in a civil suit, 
is the "arraignment" or the formal demand for the 
prisoner to say whether he is guilty or not guilty of 
the crime of which he stands charged. In answering, 
he is said to plead to the indictment, information, or 
presentment. If he refuses to reply, the plea of not 
guilty is ordered to be entered by the court. The 



LAW 107 

prisoner may, however, without answering guilty or not 
guilty, allege either that the court has not jurisdiction 
of the offense, or that the indictment has not been 
properly worded. When these questions are raised 
they are argued by the lawyers on both sides and 
decided by the judge before proceeding further. Or 
the prisoner, admitting his guilt, may, if he can, make 
the point that he has been tried and convicted before 
and has suffered punishment for the same offense, or 
that he has been tried and acquitted, or that he has 
been pardoned by the proper pardoning powers, that is, 
by the state Governor or the President of the United 
States. In any of these cases he cannot again be tried 
for the same crime, for it is the policy and command of 
the law that not only shall no one be punished twice 
for the same act, but that once tried and found inno- 
cent, he shall not be again tried, no matter what new 
and convincing evidence against him may be discovered. 
When these preliminary objections have not been 
made, or, when, if made, they have been decided 
adversely to the prisoner, the trial proceeds. The pro- 
cedure consists of the examination of witnesses and the 
production of any other evidence which the prosecuting 
attorney may have in support of the charge against the 
one tried ; and the similar examination of witnesses and 
production of proof by the attorney for the prisoner in 
defense of the innocence of his client. As in the civil 
suit, the law is determined by the judge who presides, 
and the facts by a jury of twelve men, termed a "petit 
jury " in distinction from the grand jury. The petit jury 
consists of twelve men from the vicinity, placed under 



I08 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE 

oath to try the case fairly, and wholly upon the merits 
of the evidence which may be presented to them in 
open court. Absolute unanimity is required for convic- 
tion. In case a jury cannot come to a unanimous 
decision, it is said to be " hung," and a new trial 
before a different jury must be ordered. 

Before the jury is sworn, either side may object to 
any of its members if for any reason they are alleged 
to be disqualified to serve, as for example, if they have 
already made up their minds, or are strongly predis- 
posed one way or the other, or are related to the 
accused, or, in cases of murder, have any objections to 
the death penalty in case of conviction. These objec- 
tions, when raised, are termed "challenges." Besides 
challenges for cause, both sides are usually allowed a 
certain number of peremptory challenges, for which no 
grounds need be stated. 

After argument by the counsel on both sides, and the 
charge of the judge, the jury retires to another room 
by itself, to deliberate upon its verdict. If its ver- 
dict be ''Not Guilty," the prisoner is at once released. 
If *' Guilty," he may still have the right of appealing to 
a higher court for a new trial, which will be granted if 
it be proved that there has been any material irregu- 
larities in the trial, that the jury has misbehaved in any 
way, or that any error of law has been committed by 
the judge in his rulings upon the evidence or charge 
to the jury. The state has no right to appeal. 

After conviction and refusal of new trial by the 
highest court, the only recourse left to the prisoner is 
an appeal for pardon addressed to the Governor of the 



LAW 109 

State, if he has been tried in a state court, or to the 
President of the United States, if he has been tried in a 
federal court. If pardon be refused he must undergo 
** execution of his sentence." 

Extradition. — When a criminal flees from the state 
in which his crime was committed to another state, the 
state whose law has been violated can apprehend and 
bring him back to justice only with the consent of the 
state to which he has fled. Between most civilized 
states, however, special treaties have been made provid- 
ing for the mutual surrender of fleeing criminals. These 
are termed extradition treaties. 

Our Constitution makes extradition between the indi- 
vidual states of our Union a duty. Article IV, Section 
2, provides that : *'A person charged in any state with 
treason, felony, or other crimes, who shall flee from 
justice, and be found in another state, shall, on demand 
of the executive authority of the state from which he 
fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the state having 
jurisdiction of the crime." 

In extradition treaties between independent states, it 
is always provided that persons charged with political 
crimes, that is, crimes against the government, shall be 
exempted from their operation ; also, that the criminals 
shall be surrendered to the state from which they have 
fled, upon condition that they be tried only for the 
crimes for which they are extradited, and also that they 
be allowed the same fairness of trial in the way of hav- 
ing counsel and opportunity to present defense, that 
they would have if they were tried in the courts of the 
states by which they are surrendered. 



no INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE 

Constitution Guaranties. — In the eyes of the law a 
person is innocent until conclusively proved to be guilty. 
In order to render every one safe from unjust conviction, 
the United States Constitution establishes certain rights 
of fair trial and certain opportunities for defense to an 
accused person, which cannot be denied to him by ordi- 
nary federal law. These provisions are found in the 
iirst eight amendments, which, as we have before said, 
constitute a bill of rights. Amendment V reads: ''No 
person shall be held to answer for a capital, or other- 
wise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indict- 
ment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the 
land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual 
service in time of war or public danger ; nor shall any 
person be subject for the same offense to be twice put 
in jeopardy of life or limb ; nor shall be compelled in 
any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor 
be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due 
process of law ; nor shall private property be taken for 
public use without just compensation." Amendment VI 
provides that: " In all criminal prosecutions, the accused 
shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an 
impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime 
shall have been committed, which district shall have 
been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed 
of the nature and cause of the accusation ; to be con- 
fronted with the witnesses against him ; to have com- 
pulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and 
to have the assistance of counsel for his defense." 
Amendment VII provides that : "In suits at common 
law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty 



LAW 1 1 1 

dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved." 
Amendment VIII provides that: " Excessive, bail shall 
not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel 
and unusual punishments inflicted." 

Every person upon being arrested for alleged crime 
has the right to an immediate hearing as to whether 
there is sufficient cause for his imprisonment. This 
right is enforced by obtaining from the court a writ of 
habeas corpus, which is an order directed to the officer 
by whom the accused is kept prisoner, to bring the 
prisoner into court and to show cause why he is detained. 
Article I, Section 9, of the Constitution provides that : 
'* The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be 
suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion 
the public safety may require it." 

The same section also provides that no bill of attain- 
der or ex post facto law shall be passed. A bill of 
attainder is a special legislative act by which one is 
condemned to punishment for an alleged crime without 
opportunity of making defense such as he would have 
in a court of law. An ex post facto law is one making 
an act a crime which was not a crime at the time it was 
committed, or which increases the penalty for an act 
beyond what it was at the time of its commission. 

The above constitutional provisions are simply in 
restraint of the federal government of the United States, 
but the constitutions of all the individual states contain 
substantially similar restrictions upon their respective 
state governments. 

Punishment. — That there is sufficient justification 
for the punishment of crime would seem to be beyond 



112 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE 

question. The immense value of the orderly life which 
the state provides was shown in the first chapter. 
But if the state is to be able to perform the duties which 
are laid upon it, it must have the obedience of its 
citizens ; and so long as all men are not naturally 
disposed to respect law, and to refrain from violating 
the persons or property of others, it is necessary for the 
state to compel them, if possible, to do so. 

But granting the right of the state to punish, it yet 
remains to be determined what is the fairest and best 
way of punishing. In solving this problem, the follow- 
ing considerations must govern : 

In the first place, prevention of crime is obviously 
better than its mere punishment after it has been com- 
mitted. It is therefore the duty of the state to remove, 
as far as possible, those conditions which are known to 
lead to lawlessness. Thus, intoxication may be lessened 
by a proper regulation of the liquor traffic ; education 
may be widely diffused among the poorer classes ; chil- 
dren may be removed from the keeping of parents or 
other relatives who are morally unfit to have charge of 
them ; and all possible methods may be used to relieve 
poverty and debasement or to promote the morality of 
the people at large, and thus tend to prevent crime. 

These are some of the educative or indirect means by 
which criminality may be lessened. Would-be violators 
of the law may also be directly deterred from crime, as 
for example, by keeping the streets of the city well 
lighted and sufficiently patrolled by policemen. But 
above all deterrents, the most effective is the fixing of 
penalties for breaches of the law, that will most strongly 



LAW 1 1 3 

appeal to those who would be predisposed to crime. 
The fate of those who do commit crime should be made 
an effective example to all others. 

In estimating the deterrent influence of punishment, 
the quickness and the certainty with which retribution 
is meted out are found to be far more effective than 
mere severity. The almost absolute certainty of im- 
mediate retribution is more likely to restrain the vicious 
from giving way to their criminal impulses, than the 
mere threat of a punishment, more severe perhaps, but 
so slowly and imperfectly administered, that the would- 
be criminal knows that he has a very fair chance of 
escaping punishment altogether. For this reason, no 
effort should be spared to render police and detective 
forces as efficient as possible in discovering and appre- 
hending criminals ; also, when a wrong-doer is once 
arrested, there should be no delay in the trial, and the 
penalty imposed should be such that upon presentation 
of sufficient proof of guilt, the ordinary jury will 
have no hesitation in inflicting it. One of the principal 
reasons why so many lynchings occur in this country is 
because the people find the regular execution of crimi- 
nal law so slow, and often so uncertain. 

Not only should punishment be so administered, and of 
such a character as to be calculated to deter others from 
crime, but it should also, so far as possible, have for its 
motive and effect, the reformation of the criminal him- 
self, and thus deter him from the commission of future 
crimes. It is, however, but too true, that in very many 
instances the criminal law has precisely the opposite 
effect. Especially is this true where youths and first 

WIL. AM. CIT. — 8 



114 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE 

offenders are forced to associate, while imprisoned, with 
older and more depraved criminals, and thus, by the 
end of their sentence, become thoroughly corrupted. 

It is inevitable that conviction and punishment for 
crime should both injure the convicted man's self- 
respect, and give him a bad name in the community, 
thereby making a subsequent honest life more difficult. 
But this evil can be reduced to a minimum, and, in 
some cases, more than offset by other beneficial meas- 
ures. The corrupting influences of imprisonment and 
the loss of self-respect can be lessened by keeping 
youths and first offenders separate from habitual and 
depraved criminals. Also the method has been tried 
in some places, and with considerable success, of giving 
to the justice before whom the trial is held the right to 
suspend sentence during good behavior of first offenders 
in cases of the lesser crimes. Thus those who, by sud- 
den or extreme temptation, have been led into thought- 
less crime, are preserved from the degrading influences 
of prison life, if, by subsequent good behavior, they 
demonstrate their repentance and desire to lead an 
honest life. On the other hand, if they be of a criminal 
disposition, they know that upon their second wrong- 
doing, however slight, their suspended sentence will be 
executed upon them. It is not expedient to give to 
the judge this power of suspending sentence in cases 
of serious crimes, such as homicide, burglary, arson, 
and the like. 

The evil effects of imprisonment have been lessened 
in some institutions by the introduction of systems of 
enforced education, physical and mental, and training 



LAW 1 1 5 

in some useful handicraft. Especially has this been 
done in the State Reformatory at Elmira, New York. 

Another essential element in the good administration 
of penal justice is absolute fairness in its application 
to all persons. The nature and gravity of the offense 
should determine the character and severity of the pun- 
ishment, and prominent or influential persons should 
receive no different treatment, when convicted of crime, 
than other individuals. Nothing is more calculated 
to create among the people a disrespect for, and even 
hostility to, the law, than a well-grounded belief that 
its application is not made to bear with equal weight 
upon all persons of all ranks. 

It follows from what has been said, that punish- 
ment should not be inflicted simply for the sake of pun- 
ishment. That is to say, it should not be vindictive. It 
should be inflicted only for a purpose. As related to 
the person upon whom it is inflicted, it may be con- 
sidered retributive in character ; but considered from 
the standpoint of the state or society at large, its pri- 
mary purpose is self-defense, and its ultimate effect 
should be, as far as possible, deterrent to others and 
reformatory upon the criminal himself. Where the 
death penalty is inflicted, the reformatory element can- 
not, of course, enter. But this penalty is provided only 
for those crimes which are of so dangerous and heinous 
a character, that society has to look solely to protecting 
itself against any possible further evil deeds on the 
part of the one convicted, and to providing the most 
effective deterrents to others who might be tempted to 
commit similar offenses. 



Il6 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE 

In recent years many scientists have made very care- 
ful study of the physical and mental characteristics of 
criminals, and have found reasons for believing that, in 
many cases, persons become habitual criminals because 
of inherited mental and physical defects, which so 
predispose them to crime that it is almost inevitable 
that they should become offenders against the law. 
If this be true, such habitual criminals are unfortunate, 
and not responsible for their criminality to the same 
degree that other persons are, and their punishment 
should therefore be made proportionately less severe. 
At the same time, since they are a menace to society, 
and it is almost impossible to make of them useful and 
honest citizens, though the conditions of their imprison- 
ment should be rendered less severe, its duration should 
be extended. Or, if such persons be not actually kept 
in prison for indefinite periods of time, they can be 
kept under continual surveillance by the police, and 
required to report themselves at frequent intervals, and 
to give accounts of what they have been doing since the 
last report. Thus the possibility of their committing 
crimes will be largely lessened. 

It is not possible to enter here at greater detail into 
methods of punishment, but enough has been said 
to indicate that many problems are involved in this 
subject, and to show how necessary it is that the 
intelligent citizen should know some of the principles 
underlying their proper solution. 



PART II 

CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES 
CHAPTER I 

HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION 

IN Part I of this book, we have considered those gen- 
eral characteristics of law, politics, and government 
which it is necessary to know in order properly to 
appreciate the detailed description of the governmental 
organization of any particular state. This introductory 
part has been all the more necessary to us because of 
the fact that our own government is of a very complex 
type, and therefore requires an especially adequate 
preparation for its intelligent study. 

Our national government is federal in form. That is, 
it consists of a central organization possessing supreme 
power in reference to all matters of general interest to 
the whole country ; while, subordinate to it, are forty- 
five state governments, each controlling those matters 
which pertain especially to their own respective areas. 
Besides these forty-five individual states, there are a 
number of so-called territories, regarding the character 
of which we shall speak later. 

In any large state there necessarily exists a certain 
degree of local government. By this is meant that 

117 



Il8 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

when the territory and population of a single political 
power is of considerable size, so numerous are the gov- 
ernmental duties which have to be performed, that it 
becomes necessary that the whole territory should be 
divided into districts, and that in each of these districts 
local governments should be established and intrusted 
with the management of the interests specially and 
solely pertaining to their respective local areas ; while 
to the central power is left the performance of all mat- 
ters of national interest, as well as a general oversight 
and control of the local governments. These local 
governments, to the extent of their powers, thus act as 
agents of the central authority. By this local distribu- 
tion of duties the twofold benefit is attained of pre- 
venting the central power from being overburdened with 
work, and of providing organs which, from their local 
character, are far better able to appreciate the needs of, 
and better qualified to perform the duties pertaining to, 
their particular districts, than would be the central gov- 
ernment. Thus, France is divided into departments, 
cantons, and communes, and England, into counties, 
parishes, boroughs, etc. And so, also, as we shall see, 
the individual states of our own Union are divided into 
counties and towns and townships. 

But the local government, as exhibited by the separa- 
tion of our whole country into forty-five states, each 
with its own government, is very different from the 
local government illustrated by the counties of England, 
the departments of France, or the counties and town- 
ships of our individual states themselves. The individ- 
ual states which compose our Union are, to be sure, 



HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION II9 

subordinated to the central or federal power, but their 
governments have not only an extent of power and a 
latitude of discretion far beyond that ordinarily given 
to local governments, but the older ones have seen 
the time when they were themselves individually 
sovereign and independent states. This historical 
fact is of great importance to an understanding of 
the theory of our federal government, for it has 
tended to cause Americans to view their state govern- 
ments with greater veneration and patriotism, and 
hence to guard with greater care any undue limita- 
tion of their powers, than they would have done if 
these state areas and state governments had been arti- 
ficially and arbitrarily created by a preexistent central- 
ized power. Before, therefore, proceeding to describe 
more particularly the manner in which these state gov- 
ernments are related to the federal government, we 
shall give in a few words the historical facts which led 
up to, and necessitated, the coalescence of these indi- 
vidual states into a federal government. 

Steps leading to the Adoption of the Constitution. — 
The thirteen American colonies, which in 1775 defied 
the power of Great Britain, and which in a stubborn 
struggle were able to win their independence, were set- 
tled at various times, and by colonists actuated by 
widely different motives. At the time of the beginning 
of their resistance to the oppressive acts of their mother 
country, they were, in their governments, entirely sepa- 
rate from and independent of each other. " Though 
the colonies had a common origin, and owed a common 
allegiance to England, and the inhabitants of each were 



I20 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

British subjects, they had no direct political connection 
with one another. Each, in a political sense, was sov- 
ereign within its own territory. The assembly of one 
province could not make laws for another. As colonists 
they were also excluded from all connection with for- 
eign states. They were known only as dependencies. 
They followed the fate of their mother country both in 
peace and war. They could not form any treaty even 
among themselves without the consent of England." 
(Story.) All the colonies did not bear the same relation 
to the English government. Owing to the different ways 
in which the first settlers had obtained from the King 
the right of occupancy of the soil, the resulting colonies 
had obtained different rights of government, and were 
placed under different obligations to the Crown. But 
notwithstanding the diversities of colonial governments 
that arose in this way, there were many features com- 
mon to them all. All the colonies considered them- 
selves dependencies of the British Crown. All the 
colonists claimed a right to the enjoyment of the privi- 
leges and rights of British born subjects, and the benefit 
of the common law of England. In all the colonies 
there existed local legislatures, one branch of which, at 
least, consisted of representatives of the people. 

For these local legislatures the colonists claimed the 
right to legislate concerning purely colonial affairs. It 
was generally conceded that in matters of general 
interest to the whole British kingdom, the English 
Parliament might exer.cise control, but it was maintained 
by the Americans that concerning matters relating to 
themselves alone, it was the right of their own legisla- 



HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION 121 

tures to legislate. Under this head they classed tax- 
ation. 

Probably the best statement of the rights and liberties 
claimed by the colonists is contained in a declaration 
drawn up in 1765 by the Stamp Act Congress, in -which 
nine of the colonies were represented. This declara- 
tion asserted that the colonists " owe the same alle- 
giance to the Crown of Great Britain that is owing from 
his subjects born within the realm, and all due subordi- 
nation to that august body, the Parliament of Great 
Britain ; " that the colonists " are entitled to all the 
inherent rights and liberties of his (the King's) natural 
born subjects within the kingdom of Great Britain. 
That it is inseparably essential to the freedom of a peo- 
ple, and the undoubted rights of Englishmen, that no 
taxes be imposed on them but with their own consent 
given personally or by their representatives ; " that the 
"people of the colonies are not, and from their local 
circumstances cannot be, represented in the House of 
Commons of Great Britain. That the only representa- 
tives of these colonies are persons chosen by themselves 
therein ; and that no taxes ever have been or can be 
constitutionally imposed upon them but by their respec- 
tive legislatures, and that trial by jury is the inherent 
and invaluable right of every British subject in these 
colonies." 

In opposition to these views, the English government 
held that Parliament had the authority to bind the 
colonies in all matters whatsoevei;, and that there were 
no vested rights possessed by the colonists that could 
not be altered or annulled if Parliament so desired. 



122 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

The Stamp Act Congress. — The indignation aroused 
by the attempt of England to tax her colonies without 
allowing them a voice in the Parliament which imposed 
such taxes, gave rise in 1765 to a meeting of delegates 
from nine of the colonies. This assembly was called the 
''Stamp Act Congress." The obnoxious Stamp Act was 
repealed, but England continued to impose other taxes. 

The First Continental Congress. — An invitation was 
sent out by Virginia to all the colonies, calling a meet- 
ing of delegates to consider what could be done by 
their united action to meet their common grievance. 
Thus met the "First Continental Congress" in 1774, 
in which all the colonies but Georgia were represented. 
This Congress also adopted a declaration of rights and 
grievances. 

The Second Continental Congress. — On May 10, 1775, 
assembled the Second Continental Congress, in which 
all the thirteen colonies were represented. The battle 
of Lexington had then been fought, and blood had been 
shed. Though the colonies had as yet no intention of 
throwing off all connection with England, they were 
now prepared to resist with arms any invasion of their 
rights. The work performed by this body has been con- 
cisely and forcibly stated by the historian Schouler. 
He says : '' Thus originated that remarkable body 
known as the Continental Congress, which, with its 
periodical sessions and frequent changes of membership, 
bore for fifteen years the symbols of federal power in 
America; which, as a single house of deputies acting 
by colonies or states, and blending with legislative au- 
thority, imperfect executive and judicial functions, raised 



HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION 1 23 

armies, laid taxes, contracted a common debt, negotiated 
foreign treaties, made war and peace ; which, in the 
name and with the assumed warrant of the thirteen colo- 
nies, declared their independence of Great Britain, and 
God's blessing accomplished it; which, having framed 
and promulgated a plan of general confederation, per- 
suaded these same thirteen republics to adopt it, each 
making a sacrifice of its sovereignty for the sake of 
establishing a perpetual league, to be known as the 
United States of America, a league preserved until in 
the fullness of time came a more perfect Union." 

The acts of this Congress were the first legislative 
acts by the joint action of the colonies. 

The Second Continental Congress was essentially a 
revolutionary body. That is to say, the authority for 
its acts rested upon no definite grant of powers by the 
colonies, but was assumed by it to meet the crisis of war. 
Properly speaking, it could hardly be called a govern- 
ment. It was more in the nature of a directing, advisory 
committee. Its commands possessed a recommendatory 
character only, and it was entirely without executive 
officers, or legal control over either individuals or the 
colonies. 

The Articles of Confederation. — A stronger central 
power than that afforded by the Continental Congress 
was seen to be a necessity. Accordingly, in 1777, there 
was drawn up a scheme of union embraced in a paper 
termed "The Articles of Confederation." These arti- 
cles, though drafted as early as 1777, did not go into 
effect until 1781, the provision being that they should 
not be considered as in force until ratified by all the col- 



124 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

onies, and several refused to ratify until all state claims 
to western territory were relinquished in favor of the 
national government. 

Elements tending to Separation and to Union. — We 
must remember that this was a union of thirteen pre- 
viously separated colonies. The facts which had tended 
to keep them apart had been the difficulty of travel and 
communication between the colonies, the lack of com- 
mercial intercourse, but more than all, their local jealous- 
ies. The small colonies feared the larger ; commercial 
jealousies were very keen. Disputes about boundaries 
were frequent. Colonies with good harbors and sea- 
ports desired to keep the benefits of them exclusively to 
themselves. At that time, too, the people of the thir- 
teen colonies were far more widely separated in their 
forms of government, and in their industrial habits and 
social customs, than they now are. On the other hand, 
the facts which tended to urge on a common union be- 
tween them were common race, language, and nationality, 
many similar political institutions, and, most of all, a 
common peril. 

Scheme of Government under the Articles of Confeder- 
ation. — The purposes of this Confederation are best 
stated by giving Article III of the Articles: "The 
said states hereby severally enter into a firm league of 
friendship with each other for their common defense 
and security of their liberties and their mutual and 
general welfare, binding themselves to assist one 
another against all force offered to or attacks made 
upon them or any of them, on account of religion, 
sovereignty, trade, or any other pretext whatever." 



HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION 12$ 

Under these Articles of Confederation all the func- 
tions of the federal authority, legislative, executive, and 
judicial, were vested in a Continental Congress, consist- 
ing of a single house of delegates, who voted by states, 
and were appointed annually in such a manner as the re- 
spective states directed. Each state was entitled to not 
less than two nor more than seven delegates, a majority 
of whom decided the vote of the state in question. The 
executive functions were largely performed by a Com- 
mittee of States, empowered to sit during recesses. 
For all important measures the vote of every state was 
required. The vote of all thirteen was also required 
for an amendment to the Articles of Confederation. 

The scheme of government outlined by the Articles 
was simply a makeshift. It was an effort to form a 
federal power without diminishing the powers of the 
states, an effort " to pare off slices of state government 
without diminishing the loaf." That such a union 
could be perpetual was impossible. 

Defects of the Articles of Confederation. — In this 
scheme of union there were many fatal defects, chief 
among which may be mentioned : 

1. The want of some compulsory means of enfor- 
cing obedience to the acts of Congress. The Articles 
provided neither an executive power nor a national 
judiciary worth mentioning. As one writer has said, 
" Congress could declare everything, but do nothing." 
A single state could with impunity disregard any decree 
of the Congress. 

2. The large vote required to pass all important 
measures. 



126 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

3. The absence of the right to regulate foreign com- 
merce, and make duties uniform, and to collect those 
duties. This defect was one of the most vital, and 
more than anything else decreed the failure of the 
practical working of the Confederation and showed the 
necessity of a better and stronger national government. 

4. The virtual impossibility of amendment. Since a 
unanimous vote was required, the selfish interest of one 
state could, and did, stand in the way of an amendment 
beneficial and necessary to the other twelve. 

5. There was no power to enforce treaties. Foreign 
countries recognized this, and therefore refused to enter 
into any treaties with us. Washington said, "We are 
one nation to-day and thirteen to-morrow. Who will 
treat with us on such terms.?" England refused to 
carry out the conditions of the treaty of 1783, and con- 
tinued to keep troops on our western borders. 

6. The central authority had insufficient power to 
control disputes arising between the states. 

7. The lack of a federal judiciary. 

8. Lack of power to collect taxes, or to raise revenue 
to defray even the ordinary expenses of government. 
The whole power given to Congress under this head 
was the " power to ascertain the sum necessary to be 
raised for the service of the United States, and appor- 
tion the rate of proportion on each state." The collec- 
tion of such taxes was left to the states themselves, 
and if they refused (as they frequently did), the federal 
government had no power to compel them. 

Adoption of the Constitution. — Actual hostilities 
ceased in 1781. In 1783 peace with England was 



HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION 1 27 

declared, and the independence of the colonies was 
achieved. The war left the American people with an 
empty treasury, and a country drained of its wealth and 
impoverished by the exhausting struggle. ' It left us 
with a large national debt, both to our own citizens and 
friends abroad, and most of all, left us with an army of 
unpaid patriotic soldiers. And no sooner had foreign 
danger been removed than domestic troubles arose 
which filled all with gloomy forebodings of the future. 
With the loss of the cohesive principle which common 
danger supplied them, the colonies began to fall apart. 
Even during the progress of war the weakness of the 
Union had showed itself. Washington unhesitatingly 
declared that it was the lack of sufficient central author- 
ity that caused the prolongation of the war. 

One instance will show how weak was the federal 
authority. During the summer of 1783, when Congress 
was at Philadelphia, some eighty deserters from the 
army so threatened Congress as to force a removal of 
our federal capital from that place to Princeton. The 
continental finances were in a deplorable condition. 
Congress could not even collect sufficient taxes for the 
payment of the interest on the public debt. The states 
could, and often did, refuse to pay their proportion of 
taxes imposed upon them by Congress. Congress made 
a last attempt, in 1785, to raise a revenue by a tax on 
imported goods, but this measure failed. New York 
refusing to ratify. Congress, indeed, did not collect 
one fourth of her demands. Commerce was going to 
ruin. England refused to allow our country the rich 
trade with the West Indies. To these troubles were 



128 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

added the mutual jealousies and selfishness of the 
states. Each of them tried to attract commerce to 
itself, and passed laws hurtful to the other states. The 
people in Massachusetts were in insurrection. The 
French minister wrote to his country, "There is now 
no general government in America, no head, no Con- 
gress, no administrative department." 

For all these evils the limited and imperfect powers 
conferred upon the federal government by the Articles 
of Confederation afforded no adequate remedy. Even 
the Confederate Congress was now in danger of break- 
ing up. States, to save expenses, neglected to send 
delegates, and repeated appeals had to be made to get 
representation from nine states so as to pass important 
measures. A better union was seen by all thoughtful 
citizens to be necessary, but very difficult to obtain, 
owing to interstate differences. The idea of having 
a convention separate from the Congress, whose work 
should be the framing of a stronger government, gradu- 
ally gained ground. 

The Constitutional Convention was obtained in a 
roundabout way, and only after repeated failures. The 
first attempt to obtain such an assembly was made at An- 
napolis, Maryland, in 1786. Only five states sent repre- 
sentatives, and the convention accordingly adjourned to 
Philadelphia, where in May, 1787, delegates from all the 
states, except Rhode Island, finally assembled. 

The Constitutional Convention. — Fifty-five delegates 
were present. With scarcely an exception they were all 
clear-headed, able, and moderate men. Virginia sent 
Washington, Madison, Edmund Randolph ; Pennsylva- 



HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION 1 29 

nia sent Benjamin Franklin, Robert Morris, and James 
Wilson ; New York sent Alexander Hamilton ; New 
Jersey, William Patterson ; and South Carolina, the two 
Pinckneys. Washington was chosen President of the 
convention. Two rules were adopted : First, proceed- 
ings were to be secret ; and, second, one vote was to be 
given to each state, thus making it of no importance 
whether a state had a large or a small delegation. 

Though the delegates had thus assembled to form a 
new and better union, they differed widely in their views 
as to what changes were necessary, and as to what pow- 
ers should be given to the federal government, and 
what retained by the states. Some desired merely 
a change of the existing Articles of Confederation, 
granting more power to the federal government ; while 
others wished for an entirely new constitution. 

The convention at once divided into two parties, — 
the one representing the smaller states, such as New 
Jersey and Delaware ; and the other, the larger states, 
such as Virginia, New York, and Massachusetts. The 
plan brought forward by the party of the large states 
was that presented to the convention by Edmund Ran- 
dolph of Virginia, and generally known as the national 
or large state plan. This plan proposed a Congress of 
two houses, having power to legislate on all national 
matters, and to compel obedience on the part of the 
states. Representation in both houses was to be 
based on population, thus giving to the larger and 
more populous states the control of both branches 
of the legislature ; and also, since by this scheme the 
President, executive officers, and judges were to be ap- 

WIL. AM. CIT. — Q 



130 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

pointed by Congress, control of the whole administra- 
tion of the new government as well. 

On behalf of the small states, Patterson of New 
Jersey introduced what is called the New Jersey plan. 
By this plan the old federal Congress was to be con- 
tinued with its single house of legislature, and equal 
state vote. 

The chief point upon which the two plans differed 
was as to how representation in the legislature should 
be apportioned among the states : whether it should 
be according to population, and with two houses, or 
whether there should be but one house, in which each 
state should have an equal vote. The question was set- 
tled by a compromise. It was agreed that there should 
be a legislature of two houses, a Senate, or upper and 
less numerous branch ; and a House of Representa- 
tives, the popular and more numerous lower branch. 
In the Senate each state was to have an equal repre- 
sentation, thus putting the large and small states on an 
equal footing. On the other hand, in the House of 
Representatives representation was to be according to 
population, thus favoring the larger states. 

Another point upon which the convention differed 
was concerning the slave trade, — whether it should or 
should not be allowed to continue. This question was 
also compromised, it being agreed to permit its con- 
tinuance for twenty years (until 1808), after which all 
importation of slaves might be prohibited. 

Yet another point in dispute was whether the slaves 
should or should not be counted in estimating the popu- 
lation of the states, in order to determine the number 



HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION I3I 

of representatives to which each state should be 
entitled. This likewise was compromised. It was 
agreed that for this purpose five slaves should be 
counted equivalent to three white men. 

These three main points being settled by compro- 
mises, agreement on other questions of government was 
more easily reached, as on a single chief executive and 
on a federal judiciary; and the decisions as to what 
powers should be given to the President, what to the 
Senate, and what to the House were more easily made. 
The convention adjourned September 17, 1787, having 
been in session a little over four months. Thus was 
prepared the Constitution under which we are now 
living, an achievement declared by Guizot to be the 
greatest work of its kind, and by Gladstone to be the 
greatest work ever struck out at one time by the hand 
of man. 

The Constitution having been agreed to in conven- 
tion, it was next submitted to the vote of each of the 
states for acceptance. It was decided in this conven- 
tion that it should be considered as ratified, and should 
go into effect as soon as accepted by nine of the thir- 
teen states. 

The adoption or rejection of the Constitution now 
became a question which claimed the entire attention of 
the states, and from this contest arose the first political 
parties in the United States. Those favoring the adop- 
tion of the Constitution were called " Federalists," and 
those opposing it "Anti-Federalists." 

Arguments for and against Adoption. — The Federal- 
ist party was composed of those men who were desirous 



132 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

of • a Strong central government, and for this reason 
favored the proposed Constitution. This party was 
especially strong in New England, largely because New 
England, being the commercial part of the colonies, had 
had the lamentable weakness of the old Confederation 
brought home to it very forcibly by the disorganization 
and loss of commerce attendant upon the inadequate 
regulations of the Continental Congress. 

The Anti-Federalists were those who approved of 
strong state governments, and a comparatively weak 
central government. 

The argument used by the Federalists for the adop- 
tion of the Constitution was that only by correcting all 
those defects of the Confederation which have been 
pointed out could order and prosperity be restored to 
the country. They said that the Constitution, being a 
series of compromises, could not please every one in all 
respects, but that it was the best that could be obtained 
under the circumstances. Their arguments appeared in 
a remarkable collection of eighty-five essays, called the 
*' Federalist," written by Alexander Hamilton in com- 
pany with John Jay and James Madison. In these 
were explained all the points of the Constitution, and to 
this day they remain the best exposition of the Consti- 
tution ever written. 

The objections to the Constitution raised by the 
Anti-Federalists were many. In the first place, it was 
objected that it gave to the central government too 
much power, that state government and state liberty 
would be crushed out. The state was then as dear to 
the citizen as is the Union to us to-day. Patriotism was 



HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION 1 33 

then devotion to the state. The colonists had suffered 
so much from control over their state governments by 
an outside power that they were fearful of again put- 
ting themselves under a strong national government, 
even though of their own making. In warning terms 
it was declared it would be a government founded upon 
the destruction of the governments of the several states. 
They said, '* Congress may monopolize every source of 
revenue, and thus indirectly demolish the state govern- 
ments, for without funds they cannot exist." A recog- 
nition of these elements of state love and jealousy of 
the federal power is of the utmost importance in study- 
ing our history. We see them running through all our 
life as the main causes of division between political 
parties. 

Another objection was that the Constitution con- 
tained no definite " bill of rights " recognizing and guar- 
anteeing fundamental personal liberties, such as freedom 
of speech, liberty of the press, assurance against unjust 
arrest, the right to bear arms, the trial by jury in civil 
cases, etc. This class of objections was satisfied by the 
adoption of the first ten constitutional amendments. 

It was also feared by those opposed to the ratifica- 
tion that inasmuch as the Constitution placed no limit 
to the number of successive terms which a President 
might serve, one man might become so powerful as to 
obtain practically a life tenure of office, and thus the 
government might degenerate into a monarchy. It was 
actually believed by many at that time that the Federal- 
ists had the intention of inviting some European prince 
to rule us as king. Patrick Henry cried, " We shall have 



134 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

a king; the army will salute him monarch." Washing- 
ton, by refusing to serve more than two terms, estab- 
lished a precedent which has proved as binding as a 
constitutional law. Popular as President Grant was, 
his friends failed, because of this precedent, to secure 
his nomination for a third term. 

For nine months the struggle for ratification was 
fiercely waged in the states, but the Federalists pre- 
vailed. In June, 1/88, the ninth state ratified, and 
adoption was assured. The Continental Congress fixed 
the first Wednesday in January for the election of 
presidential electors, the first Wednesday in February 
for the meeting of the electors and the election of the 
President, and the first Wednesday in March, — March 
4, 1789, for the inauguration of the President. March 
4 has ever since been fixed as the day for the inaugura- 
tion of our Presidents. Owing to a delay in the assem- 
bling of the new Congress, however, Washington was 
not in fact inaugurated, nor our new government put 
into actual operation, until April 30, 1789. 

Thus was founded our present government, which 
has stood the test of more than a century. At its 
adoption there were thirteen states, now there are forty- 
five. The inhabited area was then the narrow strip 
between the Atlantic Ocean and the Alleghany Moun- 
tains, with a population of scarcely three millions. Now 
the United States stretches three thousand miles, from 
ocean to ocean, and contains a population of nearly 
seventy million souls. 



CHAPTER II 

THE DISTRIBUTION OF GOVERNMENT POWERS IN THE 
UNITED STATES 

Distribution of Powers. — The preceding chapter will 
largely explain the principle upon which our present 
government was founded. This was to diminish as 
little as possible the powers of the states, and yet to 
give to the central government sufficient authority to 
control matters of national interest, and, if necessary, 
to enforce obedience of the states as well as of their 
citizens, to the provisions of the Constitution. 

The manner in which the various governmental au- 
thorities to which the American citizen is subject, are 
divided between the individual states and the United 
States, may be well illustrated by the following draw- 
ing i^ 




1 Adapted from Tiedeman's Unwritten Constitution of the United States, 
Chap. X. 

135 



136 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

The outer curve represents the totahty of govern- 
mental powers. 

Circle A : Powers delegated. to the United States. 
Circle B : Powers reserved to the states. 
Segment C : Concurrent powers. 

Segments D and E : Powers prohibited both to the 
United States and to the individual states. 

It will be noticed that it is said that Circle A repre- 
sents the powers " delegated " to the United States, 
while the Circle B represents the powers "reserved" to 
the individual states. Use is made of the two different 
words, ''delegated" and ''reserved" in the two cases, 
to indicate an important point. Our national or federal 
government is what is called a government of " enu- 
merated " powers. That is, it possesses only those 
powers which are " delegated " to it, which are enumer- 
ated in the Constitution. 

These federal powers may be either such as are ex- 
pressly given by the Constitution or such as are implied 
in those which are expressly given : that is, implied as 
being necessary and proper to be exercised in order to 
perform the duties which are expressly laid upon the 
United States. We shall refer more fully to these im- 
plied powers in the next chapter. 

On the other hand, the governments of the individual 
states are governments of " unenumerated " powers: 
that is, they have reserved to them, without their specific 
enumeration in the Constitution, all those powers which 
either are not placed within the sole and exclusive con- 
trol of the central government, or are not specifically 



DISTRIBUTION OF GOVERNMENT POWERS 1 37 

prohibited to them. Thus, Amendment X of the Con- 
stitution says : 

"The powers not delegated to the United States by 
the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are 
reserved to the states respectively, or to the people." 

Thus an individual state may not coin money, or 
establish post offices and post roads, or regulate inter- 
state commerce, because these are matters specifically 
given by the Constitution into the exclusive control of 
the United States. Nor may it enter into a treaty with 
a foreign state, nor pass a law impairing the obligation 
of contracts, for these are powers expressly prohibited 
to the states. On the other hand, the states need only 
show that a given power is not included within the two 
classes of those exclusively given to the United States 
and those expressly prohibited to themselves, in order 
to make good their claim of a right to exercise it. 

In the last clause of Amendment X occur the words 
"are reserved to the states respectively, or to the 
people." The phrase "or to the people" was inserted 
because in all of the states many of the powers the 
exercise of which is not prohibited by the federal 
Constitution, are nevertheless prohibited to their re- 
spective governments by their respective state con- 
stitutions, and, therefore, as being exercisable neither 
by the federal nor state authorities, are considered as 
reserved to the people. The powers thus prohibited by 
the state constitutions are very numerous in many 
cases, and we shall refer to some of them when we 
come to describe the state governments particularly.. 

Those powers which are prohibited by the federal 



138 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

Constitution both to the individual states and to the 
national government are designated by the segments 
D and E in the drawing. 

Certain of the powers which are given to the United 
States are given to it exclusively. That is, they are 
such that whether the national government chooses to 
exercise them or not, the states cannot use them. Such, 
for example, are the powers of naturalization, of issuing 
patents, and of regulating interstate commerce. But, 
in general, the mere grant of a power to the national 
government does not of itself imply a prohibition upon 
the state to exercise the same power. **The full sphere 
of federal powers may, at the discretion of Congress, be 
occupied or not, as the wisdom of that body may deter- 
mine. If not fully occupied, the states may legislate, 
subject, however, to any subsequent legislation that 
Congress may adopt. It is not the mere existence of a 
national power, but its exercise, which is incompatible 
with the exercise of the same power by the states." 
(Cooley.) 

Summing up, then, this analysis of the totality of gov- 
ernmental powers in the United States, we find : 

First. — That there are certain powers which can be 
exercised neither by the national nor state governments. 
These include those prohibited to both by the national 
Constitution ; and those, which, though given to the 
states, are denied to their governments by their own 
constitutions. 

Secondly, — That the powers of the national govern- 
ment consist of those expressly given, and of those 
implied in the exercise of those expressly given. 



DISTRIBUTION OF GOVERNMENT POWERS 1 39 

Thirdly. — That the individual state governments 
have any and all powers except : 

1. Those exclusively given to the United States. 

2. Those given concurrently to the United States 
and to the states, and actually exercised by the United 
States. 

3. Those expressly prohibited to the states by the 
Constitution. 

4. Those within the competence of the state, but 
prohibited to their governments by their respective 
state constitutions. 

The foregoing is complicated, for a federal govern- 
ment, as we have before said, is by far the most com- 
plex of all political forms. 

The first question, however, which will probably 
occur to one reading over the careful way in which the 
different duties are granted or prohibited to the national 
and state governments respectively, is : How are these 
various limitations of power maintained 1 Who is to 
decide, and what will happen if either the Congress or 
a state legislature should attempt to exceed its constitu- 
tional competence, and enact a law regulating a matter 
which is not subject to its control by the Constitution } 
The answer is comparatively simple. In any suit in 
law in which the application of a given law, whether 
enacted by a state legislature or by Congress, is 
involved, if there be any doubt as to its constitution- 
ality, either of the parties involved may allege this as a 
reason why he should not be compelled to obey it, or 
have his rights determined by it. It then becomes the 
duty of the court to examine whether or not this claim 



I40 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

is properly made, and after a decision thereon the case 
may be appealed until a final opinion is obtained from 
the Supreme Court of the United States. If it is 
decided that the law is unconstitutional, the court 
declines to apply it to the given case, and, since it is 
practically certain that the court will refuse to apply it 
in any other similar case, the law is thus rendered null 
and void of any effect. 

So also in any of the state courts, laws passed by the 
state legislatures may be rendered void as inconsistent 
with the constitution of the state by whose legislature 
they were enacted. 



CHAPTER III 

INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF POLITICAL PARTIES IN 
THE UNITED STATES 

A KNOWLEDGE of the nature of our federal gov- 
ernment as given in the foregoing description is a 
prerequisite to an understanding of the principles upon 
which our political parties have been founded. 

In the political history of our country since the 
adoption of the Constitution there have been ever 
present two great constitutional questions, in the con- 
flicting answers to which we must seek the origin and 
creeds of our great political parties. If we can gain a 
proper conception of the character of these two ques- 
tions we shall have taken a long step toward the 
understanding of the reasons for the conduct of the 
various opposing parties and the basis of the disputes 
arising between them. These have been the two ques- 
tions : I. What is the extent of the powers granted 
by the Constitution to the national government? 
2. What is the real nature of our Union ; and, aris- 
ing under this problem, what is the extent to which 
the states are justified in opposing what they believe 
to be unconstitutional acts on the part of the national 
government and, can a state or states, as a last resort, 
withdraw from the Union ? This chapter will be mainly 
devoted to an examination of these questions. 

141 



142 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

What are the legitimate powers of the United States 
government ? 

The United States government was the result of the 
union of thirteen independent colonies — a union vol- 
untary on the part of the colonies, yet forced upon 
them by the evident need of some central power strong 
enough to enforce obedience at home and demand re- 
spect abroad. The determination of what and how 
many the national powers should be was the work of 
the Constitutional Convention. Of the difficulties of 
this task we have already spoken. 

In forming a scheme for a central government there 
was the double necessity of creating a government 
strong enough to perform the duties for which it was 
established, and yet not so strong as to endanger the 
free self-government of the states. The delicate point 
to be adjusted was to give to the federal government 
only such powers as were necessary for the establish- 
ment of an effective national government, and, as far 
as possible, to retain in the states their full govern- 
mental powers; in other words, to harmonize federal 
strength with state sovereignty. 

The fear exhibited by the states in the debates pre- 
ceding the adoption and ratification of the Constitution 
of 1787, that the national government might become 
too strong at the expense of their own powers of 
government, was not set at rest by the compromises 
obtained in the convention, nor by the eleven amend- 
ments adopted soon after the inauguration of the new 
government. The reason for the continuance of this 
fear was that the Constitution was so worded that the 



STUDY OF POLITICAL PARTIES I43 

powers of the general government were not precisely 
determined. 

The statement sometimes loosely made that a descrip- 
tion of our government is contained in the Constitution, 
is apt to be misleading. The Constitution has served 
rather as a foundation upon which to build the govern- 
ment than as an entire framework. The Constitution 
was only a scheme in outline, which had to be filled 
in afterwards by legislation. For example, the Constitu- 
tion makes no mention of how business shall be trans- 
acted by the legislature. Committee government in 
Congress owes its existence to no provisions of the 
Constitution. The only mention made in the Constitu- 
tion of the Speaker of the House, to-day the most 
powerful officer in the legislature, is where it is pro- 
vided that : *' The House of Representatives shall choose 
their Speaker and other officers." All executive depart- 
ments — the State, War, Navy, Treasury, Post Office, 
Interior, Justice, Agriculture, and Labor — have been 
created from time to time by acts of Congress. Re- 
garding the structure and number of federal courts, 
the Constitution merely provides that: "The judicial 
power of the United States shall be vested in one 
Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as Con- 
gress may from time to time ordain and establish." 
Our elaborate system of district, circuit, and territorial 
courts rests, therefore, solely upon congressional enact- 
ments. So, too, the Constitution gives to Congress the 
control of territories, but does not provide how that 
control shall be exercised. 

The framers of our Constitution were wise in not 



144 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

attempting to specify more particularly than they did, 
the manner in which the several powers granted to the 
federal government should be exercised. They real- 
ized that they were forming a scheme that was to 
endure for many years, and that if it was to be capable 
of meeting the needs of a changing and rapidly growing 
country, it would have to be elastic, and contain within 
itself the power of adapting itself to new needs and 
conditions. To secure the beneficial execution of the 
powers granted, Congress was therefore given the power 
of selecting appropriate means. To have refused the 
grant of this power, would have been to attempt to 
provide by unchangeable rule for emergencies that 
could by no possibility be foreseen. Or, as Chief 
Justice Marshall has put it, '' It would have been to 
deprive the legislature of the capacity to avail itself 
of experience, to exercise its reason, and to accommo- 
date its legislation to circumstances." 

After enumerating the various particular powers given 
to the federal legislature the Constitution further says 
(Article I, Section 8) : " And shall have power to make 
all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carry- 
ing into execution the foregoing and all other powers 
vested by this Constitution in the government of the 
United States, or in any department or officer thereof." 
This is the clause under whose authorization all those 
powers have been assumed, and functions exercised, 
which have made the United States government of 
to-day so different from that of 1789. 

The general rule is, as has been said, that the United 
States government possesses only those powers granted 



STUDY OF POLITICAL PARTIES 1 45 

to it by the Constitution. But here, in the clause just 
quoted, is a general grant of all powers necessary or 
proper for carrying into effect any of the powers par- 
ticularly granted. But how is it to be decided just what 
powers are necessary or proper for the accomplishment 
of this object ? Naturally people have not been able to 
agree as to the powers that are constitutional or ex- 
pedient as "implied" under the title of "necessary 
and proper," and this question has been largely instru- 
mental in dividing the people into opposing political 
parties. There has always been a party, the mem- 
bers of which, favoring great powers for the states 
rather than for the federal government, have been 
" strict constructionists," and have advocated a close 
and narrow interpretation of this clause of " implied 
powers." From their desire to retain in the state gov- 
ernments as many powers as possible, they have been 
known as the "States' Rights" party. Opposing them 
has been the party of "loose constructionists," the mem- 
bers of which have held to a liberal interpretation 
of the Constitution, and have favored increase in the 
power of the federal government. There have never 
been, to be sure, political parties styling themselves 
"strict constructionists" and "loose constructionists," 
for these terms have been used not as titles, but as 
definitions of different principles of constitutional in- 
terpretation. But by whatever name they may have 
been known, there have been, during the greater part 
of our history, two political parties, one holding to the 
principle of strict construction and " states' rights," and 
the other to that of loose construction and federal power. 

WIL. AM. CIT. — 10 



146 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

It is probably correct to say that in general the loose 
construction principle has been followed in determining 
the powers of the federal government. Certainly this 
was true during the first fifty years of our history, when 
the national government was in its formative period and 
undergoing its greatest development. John Marshall, 
who was the Chief Justice from 1801 to 1835, was one 
of the greatest jurists the world has ever known, and he 
was thoroughly impressed with the necessity of giving 
to the federal government ample powers for the per- 
formance of all those duties which naturally fall to a 
sovereign national state. Under his controlling in- 
fluence a long line of decisions as given, supported 
by the soundest logic, whereby not only the supremacy 
of the national government over the state governments 
was declared in the most explicit and convincing man- 
ner, but rules were stated for interpretation of the pow- 
ers of Congress which secured to that body all powers 
which a liberal construction of the Constitution would 
permit. In the famous case of McCulloch vs. Mary- 
land, decided in 18 16, the Supreme Court not only 
denied the right of the state to hinder in any way the 
operation of any organ of the federal government, but 
laid down the following liberal rule for determining 
the implied powers of Congress : 

"We (the Court) admit, as all must admit, that the 
power of government is limited, and that its limits are 
not to be transcended. But we think the sound con- 
struction of the Constitution must allow to the national 
legislature that discretion with respect to means by 
which the powers it confers are to be carried into execu- 



STUDY OF POLITICAL PARTIES 14/ 

tion which will enable that body to perform the high 
functions assigned to it in the manner most beneficial 
to the people. Let the end be legitimate, let it be 
within the scope of the Constitution, and all means 
which are appropriate, which are plainly adapted to 
that end, which are not prohibited, but consist with the 
letter and spirit of the Constitutidn, are constitutional. 
. . . Should Congress in the execution of its powers 
adopt measures which are prohibited by the Constitu- 
tion ; or should Congress under pretext of executing its 
powers pass laws for the accomplishment of objects not 
intrusted to the government, it would become the pain- 
ful duty of this tribunal, should a case requiring such a 
decision come before it, to say that such an act was not 
the law of the land. But where the law is not prohib- 
ited, and is really calculated to effect any of the objects 
intrusted to the government, to undertake to inquire 
here into the degree of its necessity, would be to pass 
the line which circumscribes the judicial department and 
to tread on legislative ground." 

Under the beneficent protection of this rule, the pow- 
ers of the national government have been extended in a 
multitude of directions. For example, says Judge 
Cooley : " Congress as a means to the collection of its 
revenues, provides for the seizure, sale, or confiscation 
of property ; in its regulation of commerce, builds light- 
houses and removes obstructions from harbors ; in 
establishing post offices, prescribes the rates of postage, 
provides for the appointment of postmasters and other 
agents, for the free delivery of postal matter, and for 
the sale and payment of postal money orders, etc. But 



148 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

whatever may be the power it exercises in these and 
other cases, it must provide against its being rendered 
nugatory, and its purpose thwarted, by enacting laws 
for the punishment of those who commit acts which 
tend to obstruct, defeat, or impair the force of their 
execution, or who neglect duties essential to the accom- 
plishment of the ends designed." Thus arises an 
extensive criminal jurisdiction on the part of the United 
States. 

Since the Civil War, the sovereign character of the 
national government and the extent of its implied 
powers have become so well settled that these ques- 
tions are no longer greatly influential in the formation 
of national political parties. The political differences 
are now based almost solely upon financial and industrial 
questions. 

The second fundamental question spoken of in the 
beginning of this chapter as underlying natitDnal poli- 
tics is concerning the nature of our Union and the 
rights of state nullification and secession. 

A full discussion of these questions cannot be here 
attempted, but that which can be done is to state in 
a few words just what their meaning is, and the points 
upon which they have turned. 

The government of the United States is the judge 
of its own powers, for it is in its own tribunal, the 
Supreme Court of the United States, that the con- 
stitutionality of both state and federal laws is finally 
determined. More than once has a practical answer 
been demanded to the question. What is to be done by 
a state or states when, in their estimation, the national 



STUDY OF POLITICAL PARTIES 1 49 

government has transcended its powers and acted 
in an unconstitutional manner? Obedience, nullifica- 
tion, or, in the last resort, secession from the Union, 
have been the various alternatives that have offered 
themselves to the states, and different views as to the 
nature of our Union have sustained the propriety of 
these different proposals. 

According to the nullification theory, the Constitu- 
tion is held to be of the nature of a compact between 
the states. Inasmuch as any party to a contract has 
the right to refuse assent to any act not permitted by 
such agreement, it is argued that if the United States 
government attempts the exercise of powers not granted 
in the compact, the states have the right to interpose 
the ''rightful remedy" of ''nullification." That is to 
say, each state has the right to determine for itself 
when an unwarranted power has been assumed by the 
general government, and in such a case to declare the 
obnoxious law null and of no force within her own 
boundaries. 

In considering the question of nullification, it is nec- 
essary to distinguish the theory or rather method of 
nullification propounded by Madison and Jefferson in 
the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions, from that of 
Calhoun brought forward at the time of South Carolina's 
resistance to, and attempted nullification of, the tariff 
laws of 1828 and 1832. In the Virginia and Kentucky 
Resolutions of 1798, it was solemnly declared that the 
Alien and Sedition acts were unconstitutional, that the 
Union was a compact, and the states had the right to 
interpose the remedy of nullification ; but open resist- 



150 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

ance was not contemplated. By this theory, it was pro- 
posed to obtain the opinion of three fourths of the 
states that the acts were unconstitutional, and thus to 
"nullify" them after the manner of enacting a consti- 
tutional amendment. Until such nullification the laws 
were to be obeyed. 

The Calhoun doctrine was somewhat different from 
this. According to this doctrine, any single state might 
order at once a suspension of the law within her bor- 
ders, and not until three fourths of the states in national 
convention had overruled the nullification could the 
state be forced to obey the obnoxious law. To use 
Calhoun's own words, his theory was that '* it belongs 
to the state, as a member of the Union, in her sovereign 
capacity in convention, to determine definitely, as far as 
her citizens are concerned, the extent of the obligation 
which she has contracted ; and if, in her opinion, the 
act exercising the power in dispute be unconstitutional, 
to declare it null and void, which declaration would be 
obligatory on her citizens." The sum and substance of 
this was, to give to one fourth of the states the right, 
if they saw fit, to deprive the federal government, by 
misinterpretation, of every power intrusted to it, that 
is, to alter in effect the Constitution at will. 

The right of secession follows logically from the 
theory of nullification if rigidly carried out. Federal laws 
are general in their nature, and if binding anywhere, 
must be binding everywhere. If, then, a minority of 
the states insist on their right of nullification, the fed- 
eral government will be obliged either to admit that 
all acts of Congress are without force in a state, 



STUDY OF POLITICAL PARTIES 151 

unless it assents to them, or else it will be driven 
to the necessity of obtaining the enforcement of the law 
by arms. Such employment of force would be but the 
prelude to secession. Indeed, South Carolina, in her 
Ordinance on Nullification, declared that she would 
secede if the United States should attempt to enforce 
the collection of the tariff duties provided for by the 
acts in dispute. 

According to the Unionist view, it is held that in 
no case has the individual state the right to resist the 
operation of a federal law, much less does it possess the 
actual power to pass a law affecting its relation to, or 
continuance in, the Union. This view is supported 
by an interpretation of the Constitution that denies to 
that instrument the character of a compact between the 
states. The constitutional theory of this school is that 
the national government was formed by the people as 
a whole, and not by the states ; that the states accepted 
this government, but were in no sense parties to it as 
to an agreement. According to this view, the Union 
began with the first acts of resistance taken in common 
by the colonies, and was thus, in a sense, older than 
the state governments, which were not formed until after 
the Declaration of Independence. And even if it 
should be held that it was the states which gave in 1788 
their consent to the Constitution, their consent was ir- 
revocable. Two quotations from decisions rendered by 
the Supreme Court of the United States will make clear 
the arguments and theory of the Unionists. 

Said Chief Justice Marshall : ''The convention which 
promulgated the Constitution was indeed elected by the 



152 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

state legislatures, but the instrument when it came from 
their hands was a mere proposal, without obligations 
or pretensions to it. It was reported to the then exist- 
ing Congress of the United States, with a request that 
it might be submitted to a convention of delegates chosen 
in each state by the people thereof, under a recommen- 
dation of its legislature for their assent and ratification. 
This mode of proceeding was adopted, and by the con- 
ventions, by Congress, and by the state legislatures, the 
instrument was submitted to the people. They acted 
upon it in the only way in which they can act safely, 
effectually, and wisely on such a subject, by assenting 
in convention. It is true they assembled in their several 
states ; and where else could they have assembled } 
From these conventions the Constitution derives its 
whole authority. The government proceeds directly 
from the people. The assent of the states in their sov- 
ereign capacity is implied in calling the convention, and 
thus submitting that instrument to the people. But the 
people were at perfect liberty to accept or reject it, and 
their decision was final. It required not the affirmance 
of, and could not be negatived by, the state governments. 
The Constitution when adopted was of complete obliga- 
tion, and bound the state sovereignties. The govern- 
ment of the Union, then, is emphatically and truly a 
government of the people. In form and in substance 
it emanates from them. Its powers are granted by 
them, and are to be exercised directly on them and for 
their benefit." Also, as Chief Justice Chase said : ** The 
union of the states never was a purely artificial and arbi- 
trary relation. It began among the colonies, and grew 



STUDY OF POLITICAL PARTIES 1 53 

out of common origin, mutual sympathies, kindred prin- 
ciples, and geographical relations. It was confirmed and 
strengthened by the necessities of war, and received defi- 
nite form and character and sanction from the Articles 
of Confederation. By these the Union was solemnly 
declared to be perpetual. And when the Articles were 
found to be inadequate to the exigencies of the country, 
the Constitution was ordained to form a more perfect 
Union. It is difficult to convey the idea of indissoluble 
unity more clearly than by these words. What can be 
more indissoluble, if a perpetual union, made more per- 
fect, is not ? But the perpetuity and indissolubility of 
the Union by no means implies the loss of distinct and 
individual existence or of the right of self-government 
by the states. Without the states in union, there could 
be no such political body as the United States. Not 
only, therefore, can there be no loss of separate and 
independent autonomy to the states, through their 
union under the Constitution, but it may be not unrea- 
sonably said that the preservation of the states, and the 
maintenance of their governments are as much within 
the design and care of the Constitution as the preserva- 
tion of the Union and the maintenance of the national 
government. The Constitution in all its provisions 
looks to an indestructible Union composed of inde- 
structible states." 

A civil war of four years duration has decided the 
Unionist theory of our government to be the one under 
which the nation is to be governed. Whether or not, 
in point of fact, the nation was older than the states, 
and the Constitution not a compact, but an indissoluble 



154 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

Union, will always remain a question to be discussed. 
The dispute turns upon a point that does not admit 
of final determination. We can only theorize. To 
maintain the view that the Union is older than the 
states it is necessary to show that the Continental 
Congress was of such a character, and its powers of 
such nature, that a true national government may be 
said to have existed before July 4, 1776, and, therefore, 
that the Declaration of Independence and the conse- 
quent transformation of the colonies into states were 
not the result of the individual action of separate 
colonies, but of the whole people united in a nation. 
And, following from this, that the states were never 
out of the Union, but that the individual colonies be- 
came states only as belonging to the United States. 
Consequently, that the theory of a '' compact " between 
the states and the United States is untenable, for at 
the time the United States was born, the states did 
not exist. 

To maintain the '' compact theory " it is necessary 
to show that the ''Continental Congress" had no prop- 
erly delegated national powers, and to it the character 
of a national government could not fitly be applied, and 
that the colonies when they separated from England 
remained independent of one another, because as col- 
onies they had been independent. Therefore, that the 
initial clause of the Preamble to the Constitution, " We, 
the people of the United States " did not refer to the 
people of the United States in their collective capacity, 
but to the people of the several states. 

These opposing views of the character of our Con- 



STUDY OF POLITICAL PARTIES 1 55 

stitution have been stated not with the idea of proving 
either of them to be correct, but solely to indicate the 
lines along which political parties have fought their 
battles. 

To complete the statement of the underlying causes 
and fundamental principles that have directed the 
course of our national politics, it is necessary to give 
at least some short account of the natural causes that 
have operated irresistibly to divide the North and the 
South in their political thoughts and actions. 

Why is it that slavery flourished in the South, but 
languished and was gradually abolished in the North ? 
Why is it that the stronghold of the states' rights 
doctrine of nullification and of secession was in the 
South, and the citadel of the Unionists in the North ? 
Why is it that to-day the debate between high and low 
custom duties is, to a very considerable extent, a dis- 
cussion between the New England and Middle States 
and the Southern States ? 

To all these questions a very satisfactory answer can 
be found in the different physical characteristics of the 
North and South. The nature of the soil and climate, 
as well as the character of the settlers, predetermined 
for the Southern colonies an agricultural character, and 
for the colonies of the North a commercial and indus- 
trial character ; and already by the end of the eigh- 
teenth century we find in them a marked difference in 
political and social hfe. 

From the very start, the South, favored by a mild 
climate, rich soil, and broad, low-lying valleys, devel- 
oped an agricultural life. Slavery was introduced at 



156 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

an early date, and flourished, the warm climate being 
congenial to the negro and the rude manual labor of 
the field suited to his meager capabilities. The result 
of these influences was to develop in the South a 
system of large ill-worked manors or estates. The 
predominance of slave labor discouraged the immigra- 
tion of free labor, and the South remained compara- 
tively thinly settled. 

In the North, an indented coast with many good 
harbors, rugged soil, and a wintry climate, encouraged 
the development of a commercial and manufacturing 
life. Slave labor there proved itself scarcely profitable, 
neither the climate nor the nature of the work required 
being suited to the constitution and ability of the Afri- 
can. As compared with the South, the North soon 
became thickly settled, and largely as a result of this, 
adopted the small area of the town or township as its 
most important unit of local government, instead of 
the larger area, the country, used in the South. This 
essential difference in the system of local government 
in the North, from that of the South, has remained 
unchanged to this day, and has exercised great influ- 
ence upon the political habits of the people of these 
two sections. 

At the time of the adoption of the Constitution, these 
differences between the Northern and Southern colo- 
nies were not so great as they were soon to become. As 
contrasted with the North, the agricultural character of 
the South was already marked, but the designation of 
these two sections as "free" and "slave" states had 
not yet come into use. It was the remarkable develop- 



STUDY OF POLITICAL PARTIES 1 57 

ment of the cultivation of cotton, consequent upon the 
invention of Whitney's cotton gin in 1798, that gave 
the tremendous impetus to the increase of slavery in 
the South. While prior to the introduction of this 
machine scarcely a_single pound of cotton could be ) 
separated from the seed by a man in a day, Whitney's 
gin made it possible for him to prepare for market 
three hundred and fifty pounds per day. The nature 
of the cotton plant rendered it peculiarly fitted to the 
climate and soil of the South, and the ease with which 
it could be cultivated and prepared for market made 
the application of slave labor extremely profitable. In 
1789 many of the Southern states exhibited evidences 
of a desire and intention ultimately to abolish slavery, 
but from this time on we hear nothing more of this. 
After 1800 the number of slaves increased rapidly. 
The census of 1790 showed in the Southern colonies 
650,000, while that of 1820 showed the number to be 
over 1,580,000. From 1800 to 1865 the political life of 
the South is largely explainable by the interest of its 
people in, and devotion to, the institution of slavery. 
The promptness with which, irrespective of party 
affiliation, the people of the North assumed the anti- 
slavery attitude and those of the South placed them- 
selves under the proslavery banner, at the time of the 
Missouri contest in 1820, shows the extent to which 
these two sections of the United States were already 
divided upon this great question. The South, retarded 
in its growth as compared with the North, by the 
employment of slave labor, already exhibited an example 
of arrested development, and her politicians saw that 



158 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

if the balance of power between the slaveholding and 
the non-slaveholding states was to be maintained, a 
wider field for the extension of their favorite institution 
would have to be provided. It is in the light of this 
motive that the desire of the South for the annexation 
of Cuba and Texas, even at the expense of war with 
Mexico, is to be interpreted. The compromise of 1850 
satisfied the demands of slavocracy for a time, but only 
for a time. In 1850 the South again demanded, and 
obtained concessions. It required a civil war to demon- 
strate to us the futility of endeavoring to avert by com- 
promise the conflict that was irrepressible between the 
North and the South so long as slavery existed in the 
one, and was reprobated in the other. 

The different attitudes assumed at the present day 
by the North and South in regard to the tariff ques- 
tion are explained by the difference in the industrial 
life of these two sections. The North is essentially a 
manufacturing center, and, as such, demands high 
import duties as a protection to its manufacturers and 
merchants. The South is, as a whole, agricultural, and 
favors low duties with the idea of thus extending foreign 
trade, and affording a larger market for the sale of her 
raw products. A striking proof of the influence of the 
industrial life of a section in determining its attitude 
toward the tariff is seen in the change of front of 
Massachusetts after 1824 from free-trade to protection, 
this change being wholly due to the predominating 
influence acquired by her manufactures over her com- 
merce and agriculture. 



CHAPTER IV 

CONGRESS : ITS ORGANIZATION 

WE are now prepared to enter upon a more detailed 
description of the governmental organs which 
have been created for the performance of the various 
duties which the national Constitution has laid upon 
our federal government. As in all modern constitu- 
tional governments, the general principle has been 
followed of separating the legislative, executive, and 
judicial powers, and vesting their exercise in distinct 
organs, or departments, as they are called. It will be 
found that this distinction between the three depart- 
ments has not been followed in all cases with exactness, 
but in general this has been the principle. 

The present chapter will be devoted to a description 
of the organization of the national legislature, or Con- 
gress, as it is called. Its practical operation, and its 
specific powers, will be given in separate chapters. We 
shall here be concerned simply with its composition 
and organization. 

The composition of Congress is determined by Article 
I of the Constitution, The name Congress is a collect- 
ive one and applies to the two legislative bodies, the 
House of Representatives and the Senate, when taken 
together and considered as a single organ for enacting 
national laws. 

159 



l6o UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

Section I of Article I of the Constitution reads : "All 
legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a 
Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a 
Senate and House of Representatives." 

House of Representatives. — The House of Represent- 
atives, or lower or popular branch of Congress, as it is 
variously called, is composed of Representatives chosen 
every second year by the people of the several states. 
The number of Representatives given to each state is 
in proportion to its population, as determined by the 
last national census. Before the abolition of negro 
slavery, every five slaves were considered the equiva- 
lent of three free persons for the purposes of appor- 
tioning Representatives. Indians who still retain their 
tribal relation have never been counted at all. 

It is required that those who elect the Representa- 
tives shall have the same qualifications as are required 
of the electors of the most numerous branch of the 
state legislature ; and, since these qualifications are 
determined in each case by the individual state, it fol- 
lows as a result that qualifications of electors for na- 
tional Representatives are determined not by the 
national government, but by the individual states. 

The only restrictions placed upon the states in this 
matter by the Constitution are : First, that the right of 
citizens of the United States shall not be denied or 
abridged by any state on account of race, color, or 
previous condition of servitude. This restriction was 
imposed by the Fifteenth Amendment, which was 
adopted in 1870. Secondly, this amendment provides 
that if the right to vote be denied to any of the adult 



CONGRESS: ITS ORGANIZATION l6l 

male inhabitants of any state for any other reason ex- 
cept for participation in rebelUon or other crime, then 
the number of Representatives apportioned to that 
state shall be reduced in the same proportion that the 
number of persons thus disenfranchised bears to the 
whole number of adult citizens of such state. 

At the time of the adoption of the Constitution in 
1789, the right of voting was greatly restricted in most 
of the thirteen states, but since then the right of suf- 
frage has been steadily extended, until now, in every 
state, a vote is given to practically every adult male 
citizen. The only restrictions which still exist are 
that in one or two instances a small property or edu- 
cational qualification is imposed. 

In order to be qualified for election as a Representa- 
tive it is necessary that one should be twenty-five years 
of age, seven years a citizen of the United States, and, 
when elected, an inhabitant of the state from which 
elected. 

At the time of the adoption of the Constitution there 
was one Representative for every 30,000 population, or 
sixty-five Representatives in all. Now, so greatly has 
the population increased, that, though the ratio has 
been raised to one for every 173,901 population, there 
are in all three hundred and fifty-six Representatives. 

Every state has at least one Representative, though 
its total population may fall short of the 173,901. Each 
territory is allowed to send to the House of Repre- 
sentatives one Delegate, who has the right of speaking, 
but not of voting. When by death or resignation, a 
vacancy occurs in the representation from any state, 

WIL. AM. CIT. — II 



1 62 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

the Governor of that state may order a new election 
to fill such vacancy. 

Representatives, though elected from particular dis- 
tricts, are supposed when elected to regard the inter- 
ests of the nation as a whole when exercising their 
lawmaking duties, rather than those of the particular 
section from which they are chosen. As Judge Cooley 
says : " They bring with them their knowledge of local 
wants, sentiments, and opinions, and may enlighten 
Congress respecting these, and thereby aid all the 
members to act wisely in matters which affect the 
whole country, but the moral obligation to consider 
the interest of one part of the country as much as 
that of another, and to legislate with a view to the 
best interests of all, is obligatory upon every member." 

The presiding officer of the House ^ (termed the 
Speaker) as well as its other officers, such as Sergeant- 
at-arms. Reporters, Clerks, Doorkeepers, Chaplain, 
Paymaster, Postmaster, etc., are elected by itself at the 
beginning of each session. 

As all Representatives are chosen at the same time 
and for the same term, there is an entirely new House 
every two years, except that many of the members of 
the old House are reelected for the new. The election 
of Representatives occurs every two years on the Tues- 
day after the first Monday in November, and thus, as we 
shall see, every alternate congressional election falls 
upon the same date as that of the presidential electors. 

Each state divides itself into as many congressional 

1 The House of Representatives is very commonly spoken of simply 
as the " House." 



CONGRESS: ITS ORGANIZATION 1 63 

districts as it has Representatives apportioned to it, and 
one Representative is voted for in each such dis- 
trict. It is not legally necessary that a candidate 
should reside in the district from which he is elected, 
but it is the almost universal practice for this to be 
the case. 

The privilege which each state has of electing its 
Representatives in the manner in which it sees fit has 
led, in some of them, to a party expedient termed ''ger- 
rymandering," by which the party in power is enabled 
to secure more than its just proportion of members of 
Congress. Gerrymandering secures this result in the 
following way : Instead of dividing the state into con- 
gressional districts of a comparatively regular form, 
these districts are made to wind in and out in most 
irregular ways so as to crowd as many of the hostile 
votes as possible into one or two districts, which would 
be certain to be hostile anyway, and thus to deprive 
other districts of those votes, with a result that the 
party contriving the gerrymander will be able to carry 
those other districts for itself. The same result is also 
sometimes obtained by adding to a district where the 
votes are equally divided some small locality in which 
the majority of friendly voters will be sufficient to turn 
the scale. Thus, if the party in power have in one dis- 
trict a majority of 5000, while in a neighboring district 
its opponents have a majority of 4000, a section from 
the former can be added to the latter, and a hostile 
section from the latter given to the former, so as to 
leave the party in power still with a majority of 500 in 
the first district and yet give also a majority of 500 



1 64 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

in the second, and thus elect Representatives from both 
districts. In order to obtain these results it has often 
been necessary, as before said, to make congressional 
districts of an absurdly irregular shape. In the Con- 
gressional Directory of the ist Session, Fifty-fourth 
Congress (corrected to April 22, 1896), maps are given 
showing the districting of all the states, which exhibit 
in a striking manner the ingenuity displayed in so group- 
ing areas as to give the largest possible number of repre- 
sentatives to the party by whom the grouping is done. 

The practice of gerrymandering is also used in many 
states in the arrangement of districts for the election of 
members of their state legislatures. 

Proportional and Minority Representation. — But even 
where there is a division of the state into regular dis- 
tricts, there is often great complaint that the party in 
the minority is not sufficiently represented. Ordinarily 
that party which has the majority of votes in any elec- 
toral district will elect not simply its due proportion of 
the officers to be selected in that district, but will elect 
all of them. That is, if it have but a majority of one 
in each congressional district, it will elect every Repre- 
sentative from the state, whereas, as a whole, it may 
represent but slightly over one half of the people. In 
other words, the minority, however large, will not be 
represented at all. For example, in 1892, Iowa with 
219,215 Republican votes and 201,923 Democratic 
votes, elected ten Republican Congressmen and but one 
Democrat. For nearly forty years after her admission 
as a state Kansas did not have a single Democratic 
Representative in Congress, although the Democrats 



CONGRESS: ITS ORGANIZATION 165 

polled from one third to two fifths of the vote of the 
state during that time. 

To a great many people such a condition of affairs 
as these figures exhibit seems not only unfair but 
unwise. They say that if the minority were represented 
in proportion to their vote, the presence in the legisla- 
ture of their representatives would be, though not con- 
trolling, a check upon the majority ; that there would 
thus be greater opportunity for the minority to get a 
full discussion of their views, and that there would not 
be, for these reasons, so much danger of oppressive and 
radical party measures. 

To bring about this reform several schemes of minor- 
ity, or, as it is also called, proportional representation, 
have been elaborated and urged for mtroduction in this 
country. In Illinois one of them has actually been in 
operation for more than twenty years in the election of 
members for the legislature. The method there in 
operation is one of the simplest, and consists, first, 
in the uniting of several legislative districts, and the 
election of three or more Representatives from each of 
these consolidated districts; and secondly, in the giving 
to each voter the right to cast as many votes at each 
election as there are Representatives to be elected from 
his district. These votes may be distributed one apiece 
to each of the candidates, or the voter may cast two or 
all of them for a single man. 

Under this scheme a party having a bare majority 
can always elect two candidates out of three, and if a 
minority have more than a fourth as many votes as 
their opponents, its members can, by combining their 



l66 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

votes on one individual, always elect him. This plan 
also favors independence in voting, since, if a voter 
has a preference for one of the candidates of his party 
over another, he can give all his votes to him and leave 
the undesirable candidate without any ; whereas, accord- 
ing to the ordinary method of voting, where one Repre- 
sentative is elected from each district, and only one 
nomination made by each party, if an unfit man is put 
up by his party, the voter has no alternative but to vote 
for him or to assist in the election of his opponent. 

The Senate. — The Senate, or upper branch of the 
national legislature is a much smaller body than the 
House of Representatives, and is based upon a different 
principle. It is composed of two Senators from each 
state. Thus, while the "national" idea appears in the 
House, its members being apportioned according to 
population, the Senate represents the "federal" idea, 
according to which the states are represented as such 
and have an equal voice irrespective of population. 
This distinction is further emphasized by the fact that 
while the Representatives are elected directly by the 
people, the Senators are elected by the state legisla- 
tures, and thus appear rather as delegates of the states 
than of the people. It will be found also that the 
Senate is differentiated from the House in that it par- 
ticipates in the performance of a number of executive 
acts with which the House has nothing to do. 

At the beginning, the Senate consisted of twenty-six 
members, there being but thirteen states in the Union. 
At present, there being forty-five states, the number of 
Senators has increased to ninety. 



CONGRESS: ITS ORGANIZATION 167 

Senators are elected for a term of six years, but as 
they are not all elected at the same time, one third being 
selected every two years, the composition of the Senate 
is much more stable than that of the House. In this 
way it very often happens that while one political 
party is in the majority in the lower branch of Congress, 
another is in the ascendency in the upper. Another 
important fact which arises from the circumstance that 
the Senate is a continuous body, while the House is 
not, is that all measures which are passed through some 
of the stages of legislation, but have not actually com- 
pleted their course and become law,' utterly fail in the 
House at the end of the two-years term, and have to 
begin again at the beginning in the new Congress ; 
while in the Senate their status is not lost and they 
retain the position at the beginning of a new session 
which they had attained at the end of the preceding 
term. 

Election of Senators. — The provisions of the Consti- 
tution regarding the election of Senators are as follows : 
" The Senators of the United States shall be composed 
of two Senators from each state, chosen by the legisla- 
ture thereof for six years ; and each Senator shall have 
one vote." " The times, places, and manner of holding 
elections for Senators and Representatives shall be pre- 
scribed in each state by the legislature thereof ; but the 
Congress may at any time by law make or alter such 
regulations, except as to the places of choosing Senators." 

Until 1866 this matter was left entirely to the states, 
as permitted by the section of the Constitution just 
given. In that year an act was passed by Congress 



l68 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

regulating the election of Senators by the state legisla- 
tures. By this act it was provided that the legislature 
of each state, chosen next preceding the expiration 
of the term of either of their Senators, shall, on the 
second Tuesday after assembling, elect a Senator in 
the following manner : Each House shall by open 
ballot {viva voce) choose some man for Senator, and he 
who receives a majority of the total number of votes 
cast in such House is entered on the Journal of that 
House. At noon on the following day the members 
of the two Houses convene in joint assembly, and the 
Journal of each House is then read, and if the same 
person has received a majority of the votes of each 
House, he is declared duly elected Senator. But if 
not, the joint assembly then proceeds to choose by a 
viva voce vote of each member present a person for 
Senator, and the person who receives a majority of all 
the votes of the joint assembly — a majority of all the 
members elected to both Houses being present and vot- 
ing — is declared duly elected. If no person receives 
such a majority on the first day, the joint assembly 
meets at noon on each succeeding day during the 
session of the legislature and takes at least one vote 
until a Senator is elected. In case of a vacancy occur- 
ring in the Senate during the recess of a state legislature, 
the Governor of the state appoints a man to fill the 
place, his appointee holding until a successor is chosen 
in the above manner by the legislature when it meets. 

There are many who think that this method of elect- 
ing Senators by state legislatures, instead of directly by 
the people, is inadvisable, and that the Constitution 



CONGRESS: ITS ORGANIZATION 169 

should be amended so as to provide for their election in 
the same manner as Representatives. The arguments 
which they advance are as follows : 

In the first place, they say that much valuable time 
of the state legislatures would be saved, for it is of the 
most common occurrence for disagreements to arise 
between the two Houses of the state legislatures upon 
the man to be selected, and thus, sometimes, months 
are spent before an agreement is reached and the legis- 
latures are permitted to resume their proper lawmaking 
functions. 

In the second place, it is argued that the assignment 
of this duty to the state legislatures necessarily leads 
to an undesirable confusion of state and national poli- 
tics. There is no rational ground for electing the 
members of a state legislature except upon their known 
views as to matters of local state interest. Yet, as a 
matter of fact, because they have this senatorial elec- 
toral function, in very many cases the controlling 
reason for their selection is their known preference for, 
or antagonism to, this or that prospective candidate for 
the Senate. Thus legitimate state issues are unneces- 
sarily subordinated to national politics. 

Thirdly, and possibly most important of all, it is held 
that this method of selection leads to corruption. It is 
believed that in case a wealthy man desires to be Sena- 
tor and is not above bribery, it is possible for him so to 
influence the comparatively few members of a state 
legislature as to secure his selection. Whereas, if his 
election were by the people, this would be impossible. 
, The qualifications for a Senator are that he shall be 



I/O UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

thirty years of age, that he shall have been nine years 
a citizen of the United States, and an inhabitant, when 
elected, of the state from which he is chosen. 

The Senate selects all its own officers, except its 
President, who according to the Constitution must be the 
Vice President of the United States. The Vice President 
has no vote except in case of a tie. Each House is the 
judge of the election returns and of the qualification of 
its members ; that is, as to whether the persons claim- 
ing membership have been properly elected, or have 
the necessary qualifications prescribed by the Constitu- 
tion. Thus at every session of the House, and some- 
times in the Senate, there are numerous contested 
elections to be decided. All such cases are fully inves- 
tigated and decided by a majority vote of the House or 
Senate. Too often, however, this vote is dictated by 
party prejudices rather than by a judicial estimate of the 
evidence offered. In England, such contests, as being 
essentially of a judicial character, are given primarily to 
the courts, only the final ratification of their decisions 
being reserved for Parliament ; but almost without 
exception the decisions of the court are accepted. 
The introduction of such a method in this country 
would seem to be very desirable. Not only would the 
time of Congress be saved, but far greater justice 
would be obtained for the contestants. 

A record of the proceedings of both Houses of Con- 
gress is kept and printed in two publications termed 
the " Congressional Record " and Senate and House 
"Journals." The Journals are very brief and analo- 
gous to the minutes of the meetings of any ordinary 



CONGRESS: ITS ORGANIZATION 171 

society. They contain a record of the introduction 
of bills, resolutions, petitions, etc., the names of mem- 
bers voting on all subjects when the ayes and nays are 
demanded, all messages from the President of the 
United States to either House and the inaugural ad- 
dresses, a brief statement of the subject of every report 
or communication from the executive departments, and 
lists of attendance of members. They are issued semi- 
monthly, and in bound form at the end of each session. 
They have a subject index, and are thus very useful in 
tracing the course of a bill in its various stages from 
day to day until it becomes a law. Besides the ordinary 
legislative Journal, the Senate keeps an executive Jour- 
nal of its proceedings when in executive session. This 
Journal is not published, but kept secret, though, after 
all need of secrecy is past, those of former years are 
printed and published. 

The Congressional Record is a verbatim report of all 
that takes place in Congress, printed from the short- 
hand notes of the official reporters. It is printed daily 
at the government printing office while Congress is in 
session. 

All laws enacted by Congress are termed '* United 
States Statutes at Large." In 1873 all laws of a perma- 
nent nature then in force were gathered together in 
a single volume reenacted by Congress, and in this 
form are known as the " Revised Statutes." Since then, 
various supplements have been published by which the 
Revised Statutes are made to include all laws in force 
nearly to date. 

All laws for raising revenue must, according to the 



1/2 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

Constitution, originate in the House of Representatives, 
but the Senate may propose dr concur with amend- 
ments, as on other bills. Though it is not constitution- 
ally necessary for all bills appropriating money to origi- 
nate in the House, it is customary for them to do so. 

The salaries of Congressmen are fixed by Congress 
itself, and have varied from time to time. At present 
they receive ^5000 per annum and ^20 for every mile 
(termed mileage) of necessary travel to Washington 
and return to their respective homes. The Speaker of 
the House receives ^8000. 

During their attendance at Congress, or while going 
from or returning to the same, Senators and Represent- 
atives are exempt from arrest except when accused of 
treason, or felony, or a breach of the peace. This 
exemption is based upon the principle that, save in 
serious cases, the people are not to be deprived of the 
benefit of the services of the Representatives whom 
they have elected. In order to secure greater freedom 
of debate and expression of personal opinion, the Con- 
stitution also provides that no member shall be held 
responsible, that is, liable to prosecution for libel or 
slander for anything which he may have said in any 
speech or debate in his House. 



CHAPTER V 

CONGRESS IN OPERATION 

CONGRESS meets each year on the first Monday 
in December. Each Congress lasts two years, 
that is, during the time for which each new set of Rep- 
resentatives is elected, and consists of two sessions, a 
long and a short one. The long session lasts from 
the time when Congress meets in the second December 
after the November in which the Representatives are 
elected, until some time in midsummer. The short 
session lasts from the time when Congress meets again, 
in the following December, until the next fourth of 
March at noon, at which time the term of office expires 
for all of the members of the House and for one third 
of the Senators. The long sessions end in even years 
(1894, 1896, etc.), and the short sessions in odd years 
(1895, 1897, etc.). Extra sessions may be called at 
any time by the President of the United States for 
the transaction of urgent business. 

From the above it will be seen that the old Congress 
remains in session until the fourth of March after the 
November in which the new House is chosen, and thus, 
unless an extra session of Congress be called, the newly 
elected members do not take their seats until thirteen 
months after they are chosen. 



1/4 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

This would seem to be a condition of affairs which 
should be changed, for it has frequently happened that 
during that period the political opinions of the people 
have changed, and thus, when the time has come for 
such members to enter upon the performance of their 
legislative duties, they no longer represent the opinions 
of those by whom they were elected. 

Committee Government. — An immense amount of 
business must necessarily be transacted by a Congress 
which legislates for a nation of nearly seventy millions 
of people, inhabiting a territory of over three and a 
half millions of square miles. The Constitution which 
created Congress and conferred upon it its powers of 
legislation, makes no provision for the method by which 
these powers shall be exercised. Congress has, there- 
fore, itself developed a very elaborate set of rules of 
procedure, whereby its enormous tasks may be per- 
formed. 

Lack of time prevents the separate consideration 
by the whole Congress of every matter which comes 
before it. To provide a means by which each subject 
may receive investigation and consideration, the plan 
is followed of dividing each House of Congress into a 
large number of committees. Each committee busies 
itself with a certain class of business; and bills, when 
introduced, are referred to this or that committee for 
consideration, according to the subjects to which they 
relate. Thus, for example, affairs relating to Wash- 
ington are handed over to what is known as the Dis- 
trict of Columbia Committee, while appropriation bills 
are given to the Committee on Appropriations, etc. 



CONGRESS IN OPERATION 1/5 

These committees consider these* bills carefully, and 
frequently take the testimony of outside persons in 
order to discover the advisability of the measure which 
they propose. 

The regular course through which a bill has to go 
before becoming an act or law is as follows : On 
Mondays there is a roll-call of the states, and members 
may then introduce in the House or Senate any bill 
which they desire. These bills are then referred 
by the presiding officer to appropriate committees. 
These committees, meeting in their own separate 
rooms, debate, investigate, and, if necessary, ask the 
opinion of outside persons. After such consideration 
the bills are reported back to the House or Senate. 
Very few bills reach this stage, however, for the com- 
mittees do not have time to report any save the more 
important ones, and thus the majority of them disap- 
pear forever when once referred to a committee, or, 
as the saying is, are " killed in committee." 

If a bill receives the approval of the committee it is 
favorably reported to the Senate or House as^the case 
may be, accompanied by a report advising its passage. 
If the bill is not approved by the committee tb which 
it has been referred, an unfavorable report is made. 
Bills are not often passed after such an adverse report. 
The reports which accompany the bill, giving the rea- 
sons for the action proposed by the committee, are 
printed, often at great length. When reported back 
to the House in which it was introduced, a bill is voted 
upon and amended if so desired, and, when passed, is 
sent to the other House. If passed there, it is ready 



1^6 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

for the President's signature. If vetoed, the bill is lost, 
unless passed over the veto by a two-thirds vote of both 
Houses. The Constitution gives the President ten days 
to deliberate as to whether he will give his approval to 
a measure which has been sent to him. If the bill is 
not returned by him to Congress within that time, it 
becomes a law without his signature. If, however, 
Congress adjourns before the ten days expire, and 
before the given measure has been returned to it, the 
measure is lost. This is termed a *' pocket veto." 

Frequently, one House, while not wishing to defeat a 
measure sent to it by the other House, may desire to 
change it in some particulars. If this is done, the bill, 
as amended, is sent back to the House from which it 
came, and if these amendments are agreed to by it, it 
is sent to the President for his approval. Thus by 
repeated amendments a bill may pass several times to 
and fro between the House and the Senate. 

Important bills, as, for example, appropriation bills, 
which it is imperative to have passed in some shape 
or other, are referred, when the two Houses are unable 
to agree, to what are called *' Conference Committees " 
composed of members from both Houses. In these 
committees a compromise is effected, and the bills as 
then reported are almost always accepted by both 
Houses. 

The Senate is now divided into between fifty and 
sixty committees, but the number varies from session to 
session. The principal committees are those on, (i) 
Foreign Relations; (2) Privileges and Elections; (3) 
Judiciary ; (4) Commerce ; (5) Finance, and (6) Appro- 



CONGRESS IN OPERATION 1 7/ 

priations. The Senate selects the members for its 
different committees by ballot, though it is pretty well 
determined beforehand how each committee shall be 
constituted. A committee is always composed of an 
odd number of members, and both political parties are 
always represented, though the majority is, in almost all 
cases, from that body which is in the ascendency in the 
Senate. 

The House of Representatives is organized into sixty 
or more committees, ranging in the number of their 
members from thirteen down. As regards party repre- 
sentation upon them, their constitution is similar to that 
of the Senate committees. The Committee on Ways 
and Means, which is concerned with proposals for rais- 
ing revenue, is by far the most important. Other im- 
portant committees are those on (i) Elections; (2) Ap- 
propriations ; (3) Judiciary ; (4) Manufactures ; (5) 
Commerce ; (6) Labor ; (7) Rules, etc. 

Every Representative serves upon at least one com- 
mittee, and most of them upon several. Unlike the 
custom in the Senate, the Speaker has the sole power 
of appointing its committees in the House. This, 
together with his almost supreme control of the order 
of debate, and of what matters shall be considered in 
the House, makes him next to the President, the most 
powerful federal official. 

Amount of Work Done. — The amount of work ordina- 
rily done by a Congress during its two sessions may be 
judged from the record of the Fiftieth Congress, which 
was as follows : There were 4000 bills introduced in the 
Senate and 145 Senate joint resolutions. Of this num- 

WIL. AM. CIT. — 12 



1/8 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

ber 1 127 bills and joint resolutions passed in the Senate 
and 554 were either postponed indefinitely or referred 
to the Court of Claims, so that the total number on 
which final action was taken by the Senate was 1681. 
Of these ^6j obtained the approval of the other House 
and were sent to the President, and 591 of them became 
laws, the number of vetoes being j6. This number of 
vetoes was exceptionally large, and for the most part 
indicated the President's disapproval of private pension 
claims. 

The House of Representatives passed 1561 House 
bills and sent them to the Senate, and the Senate passed 
1347 of them. The House passed 56 joint resolutions, 
and the Senate assented to all of them but 8. The 
House therefore passed in all 2284 bills and the Senate 
2522. 

The first session of the Fifty-first Congress was, with 
one exception, the longest ever held. During that ses- 
sion there were introduced in the House 12,402 bills and 
joint resolutions; and in the Senate 4570, making the 
total 16,972. The total number of acts passed was 1335. 

In the Fifty-fourth Congress, over 14,500 bills and 
resolutions were introduced, of which 948 were passed 
and became laws. When the Congress expired, over 
two thousand measures were still upon the calendars of 
the House. The rest were in the committees, but 
unreported. 

Control of Debate. — Notwithstanding that each House 
of Congress has divided itself into fifty or more smaller 
bodies, and reserved to itself as a whole only a consid- 
eration of their reports, time is so urgent that all debate 



CONGRESS IN OPERATION 1 79 

in the House of Representatives, except in a very few 
instances, is limited to a few minutes for each member. 
On certain days an hour is given to what are called bills 
on the calendar. Each committee is then called in turn, 
and the chairman thereof recognized. He determines 
what bill from his committee shall be considered and who 
shall be allowed to speak for the brief time which is 
given for its discussion. This of course gives to these 
chairmen a great deal of power in controlling legislation. 
In fact it will be found that all of the time of the House 
is practically in the hands of these chairmen or of the 
Speaker. No one is allowed to speak or to move that 
any certain measure be taken up for consideration un- 
less recognized by the Speaker ; and this recognition 
does not depend, as one might think, upon being the 
first to rise and claim recognition, but entirely upon the 
arbitrary choice of the Speaker, who, guided generally 
by the known wishes of his party, but often also by his 
own personal judgment, recognizes whom he chooses, 
irrespective of who may first demand recognition. 

Certain of the committees, because of their impor- 
tance, are privileged committees and may report at any 
time. The most important of these privileged commit- 
tees is that on Ways and Means. 

Notwithstanding the limitation of debate few except the 
most important bills ever reach consideration in their 
regular order. There is a method, however, which is 
called " suspension of the rules," whereby, by a two- 
thirds vote, a bill may be taken up and passed out of its 
regular order. The motion for the suspension of the 
rules may be made only on the first and third Mondays 



l8o UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

of each month, and during the last six days of each ses- 
sion. Unanimous consent will also at any time permit 
a bill to come up for discussion out of its turn. 

Filibustering. — This is the term used to describe the 
use of obstructive and dilatory tactics by those in a 
minority, in order to prevent a vote upon a measure to 
the passage of which they are strongly opposed. Being 
outnumbered, those of the minority see that if a bill 
once gets to a vote they cannot stop its passage. There- 
fore, to prevent this, they speak as long and as often as 
the rules will permit. One after another they raise 
frivolous points of order, which require time for dis- 
cussion, make motions to adjourn, demand that there 
be an individual vote on these motions, or refuse to 
vote at all and thus attempt to prevent a quorum. 

It is the theory of a free government and of a free 
legislature that those in the minority shall be entitled 
to be heard, as well as those in the majority. But 
when this right is abused, and it becomes evident that 
debate is being continued for purposes other than those 
of advancing new arguments for the persuasion of 
opponents, and when thereby important legislation is 
delayed, then the majority may refuse to consent to fur- 
ther discussion, or to entertain obstructive motions, and 
may proceed forthwith to vote upon the measure 
pending. 

In order to do this in the House of Representatives 
the power has been given to the Speaker of closing the 
debate whenever a majority demand what is called 
"the previous question." Thus, House Rule No. 17 
declares : ** There shall be a motion for the previous 



CONGRESS IN OPERATION l8l 

question, which, being ordered by a majority of mem- 
bers present, if a quorum, shall have the effect to cut 
off all debate and bring the House to a direct vote 
upon the immediate question or questions on which it 
has been asked and ordered." This mode of stopping 
debate is often known by the French word '' Cloture'' 
The existence of this rule places it entirely within the 
power of a simple majority to pass any measure it 
pleases without giving any opportunity whatever to the 
minority to be heard ; but the American sense of fairness 
and justice prevents this right from being often abused. 

The Senate being a much smaller body than the 
House, much more time may be placed at the disposal 
of each of its members ; and as yet it has not been 
forced to give to its presiding officer such extensive 
powers of recognition and of regulating debate as have 
been given to the Speaker of the House. Nor has it 
found it necessary to give to the majority that enormous 
power of checking debate by means of the previous 
question. But it is not certain that the time has not 
now come when this check upon the minority should 
be introduced, as suggested by the extent to which 
filibustering was carried in the special session which 
was convened by President Cleveland in 1893. 

Caucus. — There is still one feature of congressional 
government that demands explanation, and that is the 
caucus. A caucus is the meeting of the members of 
one party in private for the discussion of the attitude 
which the members of that party shall take upon points 
which are expected to arise in the legislative halls. 
Thus, in the Senate caucus is decided who shall be 



1 82 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

members of the various committees. In these meetings 
is frequently discussed whether or not the whole party 
shall vote for or against this or that important bill, and 
thus its fate is practically decided before it even comes 
up for debate in Congress. Before each Congress 
meets, caucuses are also held to decide who shall be 
the party nominee for the speakership. 

Executive Duties of the Senate. — Besides the per- 
formance of its ordinary legislative duties as a branch 
of the national legislature, the Senate has imposed 
upon it by the Constitution two classes of executive 
duties, in the performance of which it acts in connec- 
tion with the President and independently of the Lower 
House. 

These duties consist, first, in the confirmation of cer- 
tain of the appointees of the President to office ; and 
second, in the ratification of treaties. 

The Constitution provides that the President "shall 
have power by and with the consent of the Senate to 
make treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators 
present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and 
with the consent of the Senate, shall appoint ambassa- 
dors and other public ministers and consuls, judges of 
the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United 
States, whose appointments are not otherwise herein 
provided for, and which shall be established by law ; 
but the Congress may by law vest the appointment of 
such inferior officers as they think proper in the Presi- 
dent, in the courts of law, or in the heads of depart- 
ments." 

In the next chapter it will be found that appointment 



CONGRESS IN OPERATION 1 83 

to office of the great majority of federal officials has 
been vested by law in the President alone, in the heads 
of departments, or in the courts of law, and hence does 
not need confirmation by the Senate. All of the high- 
est positions, however, numbering over four thousand, 
still require the senatorial consent. This consent is 
indicated by a simple majority vote, differing in this 
respect from the ratification of treaties, for which a 
two-thirds vote is necessary. 

All of the preliminary negotiations of a treaty are 
carried on by the President, acting usually through his 
Secretary of State, or through our ambassador or min- 
ister to the foreign state with whom the treaty is being 
arranged. Not until the matter has assumed definite 
shape, and the treaty has been reduced to a formal 
written statement, is it sent to the Senate by the Presi- 
dent, accompanied by his recommendation that it be 
ratified. The Senate may ratify it or reject it, or 
amend it and then accept it ; in the last case, how- 
ever, the amendments must be accepted also by the 
President and by the foreign state or states concerned. 

In order to become fully operative a treaty has to 
pass through the following five stages : 

1. Reduction to written statement, signing by the 
Secretary of State for the President, and submission 
to the Senate. 

2. Ratification advised by the Senate. 

3. Ratification by the President. 

4. Exchange of ratifications with the foreign power. 

5. Proclamation by the President. 

The treaty thus proclaimed becomes fully binding as 



1 84 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

law upon all citizens of the United States, and operates 
as a repeal of all existing laws which may be contrary 
to its provisions. 

When sitting for the performance of executive duties, 
the meetings of the Senate are secret, and all members 
and employees are sworn not to make public what tran- 
spires until the bar of secrecy is removed. Notwith- 
standing this, it has been found almost impossible to 
keep these sessions wholly secret, and, as a rule, the 
newspapers give fairly good accounts of them. 

Impeachments. — One purely judicial function is given 
to the Senate, — the trial of all federal officials when 
formally charged with misconduct in office. The pres- 
entation of these charges is by the House of Repre- 
sentatives. The provisions of the Constitution which 
regulate this are as follows : 

'* The Senate shall have the sole power to try all 
impeachments. When sitting for that purpose they 
shall be on oath or affirmation. When the President 
of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall 
preside ; and no person shall be convicted without the 
concurrence of two thirds of the memt^ers present. 
Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend 
further than to removal from office, and disqualifica- 
tion to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or 
profit under the United States ; but the party convicted 
shall nevertheless be liable and subject to indictment, 
trial, judgment, and punishment according to law." 

Since the adoption of our Constitution there have 
been seven impeachment trials before the United States 
Senate, of which only two have resulted in convictions. 



CONGRESS IN OPERATION 1 85 

Of these seven, three were of District Judges, Pickering, 
Peck, and Humphreys, of whom the first and the last 
named were found guilty and dismissed from office. 
A Justice of the Supreme Court, Samuel Chase, a 
Secretary of War, William K. Belknap, a Senator, 
Blount of Tennessee, and a President of the United 
States, Andrew Johnson, were the occasion of the 
other of the four impeachment trials, which resulted 
in acquittals. President Johnson escaped condemna- 
tion by but a single vote. 

In order that a public officer may be liable to im- 
peachment it is not necessary that he shall have com- 
mitted an actual crime. Any improper exercise of the 
authority of the government, whether or not defined by 
the law as a crime, can be held as constituting a suffi- 
cient ground for impeachment. 

Problems Connected with Congressional Legislation. — 
The problem of so controlling debate as to give to the 
minority a chance to be heard, and yet to enable the 
majority to prevent obstruction and filibustering, has 
already been spoken of. Besides this problem there are 
other serious questions regarding evils which exist in 
our present method of congressional legislation. First, 
there is the evil of extravagance in the spending of the 
people's money. This extravagance consists not so 
much in over-large appropriations for the legitimate ob- 
jects of government as in appropriations for unnecessary 
ajid improper purposes. Chief among these are undoubt- 
edly many of the items embodied in the River and Harbor 
Bills, in which appropriations are made for the improve- 
ment of rivers and harbors throughout the country. It 



1 86 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

is a well-known fact that many of these items are 
inserted not so much because there is a real need for 
the improvements described as to provide for the ex- 
penditure of money in the districts of the Congressman 
by whom the items have been suggested and urged. 
Many of the private bills for granting pensions to those 
who have been refused relief by the regular pension au- 
thorities are also undoubtedly unmeritorious. 

Secondly, and largely connected with the foregoing, 
is the evil of *Mog-rolling." This is the term used to 
designate that mode of securing the passage of a bill by 
which one Congressman says to others that if they will 
not object to the passage of a particular bill in which he 
is interested, he will not stand in the way of the meas- 
ures desired by them. Thus it comes about, since almost 
every Congressman is eager to obtain the passage of 
one or more measures important to him or to his constitu- 
ents, that many improper measures are enacted through 
log-rolling which would otherwise be defeated. 

Thirdly, the present methods of private bill legislation 
should be improved. A very considerable portion, pos- 
sibly a majority, of the bills passed by Congress are of 
a private nature. That is, they grant a pension to some 
individual or make provision for some special or private 
matter. In England there has been created a special 
procedure for such bills, whereby the introduction of 
unnecessary and improper ones is discouraged or pre- 
vented, and what is just as important, provision is made 
for a careful judicial determination, outside of parlia- 
ment, of all the facts and interests involved. To the 
legislature itself is left only the final decision upon the 



CONGRESS IN OPERATION 1 87 

reports which are based upon such investigations and 
judicial determinations. 

The introduction of such a procedure as this into our 
own country would not only enormously lighten the 
present burdens of Congress, but would undoubtedly 
materially increase economy as well as justice. 

Finally, an improvement which is much needed in 
congressional methods is some means whereby bills 
may be better drafted, that is, more definitely and 
exactly worded. At present, many of the laws which 
are passed, being drawn by unskillful hands, abound 
in ambiguities and errors, which inevitably lead to 
confusion and unnecessary lawsuits for their proper 
interpretation. This evil might be corrected by the 
establishment of a committee of experienced members, 
or even non-members, whose duty it should be properly 
to frame the laws. For this work technical legal skill 
and accuracy are demanded. The creation of such a 
body would, therefore, not only lighten the labor but 
increase the value of the product of Congress. The 
larger body would still retain the entire power of 
enacting law; only the formal and technical work 
would be given to the committee. 

Aside from these specific problems, and vastly more 
important than them all, is the election of honest and 
competent members of Congress. This is a duty which 
devolves upon the voters, and upon them therefore falls 
the greatest responsibility. 



CHAPTER VI 

POWERS OF CONGRESS 

THE powers of Congress are enumerated in Section 
8 of Article I of the Constitution, and- will be here 
described in the order in which they are there stated. 

Taxes, Loans, and Debts. — Congress has the power 
to raise by taxes and loans the money needed for the 
payment of its debts, and to provide for the common 
defense and for the general welfare of the United 
States. Under this last clause are included all items 
of expense, of whatever character, which are incurred 
in the exercise of any of the powers laid upon the 
federal government. The only restriction upon the 
power of taxation is that all duties and imposts shall 
be uniform throughout the United States, and that 
direct taxes shall be apportioned among the several 
states in proportion to their respective populations. 

By duties and imposts are meant taxes levied on 
importations into this country from foreign countries, 
or upon exports from this country to other places. 
The United States has never found it either necessary 
or expedient to levy export duties. But import duties 
have constituted its main source of income. Constitu- 
tionally, a tax must be levied primarily for the purpose 
of yielding a revenue for public purposes. But it is 



POWERS OF CONGRESS 1 89 

no legal objection to a tariff measure if, incidentally, it 
yields assistance and protection to home industries. 

Excises or internal revenue duties are taxes laid on 
domestic products, such as distilled liquors, oleomar- 
garine, tobacco, etc. In another chapter the sources 
of revenue of the United States will be discussed more 
fully. 

A direct tax is one which is paid by the person upon 
whom it is assessed, while an indirect tax is one which 
may be shifted upon another. Thus the tariff duty 
upon imports is an indirect tax, since the importer by 
whom it is paid in the first place adds a corresponding 
amount to the prices of the imported commodities when 
offered for sale, and thus the purchasers and consumers 
really pay the taxes in the enhanced prices. Poll, or 
capitation, taxes, and taxes on land are direct taxes. It 
has recently been declared by the Supreme Court of 
the United States that a tax based upon incomes is a 
direct tax, and therefore one that, according to the 
Constitution, must be distributed among the states in 
proportion to their population. It was because the 
federal income tax of 1895 was not so apportioned that 
it was declared void by the Supreme Court. 

The individual states have full and unrestricted pow- 
ers of taxation, except as to the following matters : 

1. They may not tax any property or agency, or 
salary of an official of the United States. 

2. They may not levy any export or import duty. 

3. In general, they may not lay any tax which can 
operate in any way as a restraint upon, or regulation 
of, any matter over which the United States has exclu- 



190 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

sive jurisdiction. Thus they are prohibited from laying 
any taxes which operate in any way as a regulation of 
interstate commerce. 

A state's taxing power is limited to persons and 
property within its own jurisdiction. 

Under its authority to borrow money, it has been 
held that Congress may sell bonds of the United 
States, establish national banks, and issue legal-tender 
paper money. 

Foreign and Interstate Commerce. — This is a subject 
the control of which is given exclusively to the United 
States. Under this authority Congress has the right 
to enact quarantine, pilot, and wharfage laws, improve 
rivers and harbors, and exercise a large control over 
all agencies of interstate commerce, such as railroads, 
steamboats, telegraphs, etc. Incidental to this federal 
control of interstate and foreign commerce, the federal 
Supreme Court can declare void any act of a state 
which in any way interferes with, or attempts the reg- 
ulation of, this subject. 

In 1887 Congress, under this authority, established 
the Interstate Commerce Commission, to which were 
granted powers of preventing unfair discrimination in 
passenger and freight railway rates. In 1890 it enacted 
what is popularly known as the Anti-Trust Act, which 
declares illegal all combinations or agreements in the 
form of trusts or otherwise, in restraint or regulation 
of trade between the states; and prescribes severe 
penalties for the persons engaging in such contracts 
or combinations. 

Naturalization. — Congress is given exclusive power 



POWERS OF CONGRESS I91 

over this subject, regarding the nature of which we 
have already spoken- in a previous chapter. 

Bankruptcy. — Congress has power over this subject, 
but not an exclusive one. Therefore, while there was 
no existing federal bankrupt law, individual states 
could legislate in reference thereto. A comprehensive 
national law upon this subject was enacted by Congress 
July I, 1898, which provides for both voluntary and invol- 
untary bankruptcy. 

Coinage of Money. — Congress has the power of en- 
acting laws for the coinage of money, and the regula- 
tion of the value thereof. This power is exclusive, 
for not only is it given to Congress affirmatively, but 
the individual states are expressly forbidden to coin 
money or to make anything but gold and silver a tender 
in payment of debts. The states are also forbidden to 
*' emit bills of credit." By a bill of credit is meant " a bill 
issued by the state involving the faith of the state, and 
designed to circulate as money on the credit of the state 
in the ordinary uses of business." Congress has also the 
power "to fix the standard of weights and measures" ; 
and it may provide also for the punishment of counterfeit- 
ing the securities and current coin of the United States. 

Post Offices. — Congress is given the power ''to es- 
tablish post offices and post roads." As Judge Cooley 
says : *' This power to establish post offices includes 
everything essential to a complete postal system under 
federal control and management, and the power to pro- 
tect the same by providing for the punishment as crimes 
of such acts as tend to embarrass or defeat the purposes 
had in view in their establishment." 



192 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

Copyrights and Patents. — The next clause gives Con- 
gress the exclusive control of copyrights and patents. 
The words of the grant are: ''To promote the progress 
of science and useful arts by securing for limited times 
to authors and inventors the exclusive rights to their 
respective writings and discoveries." 

At present copyrights last twenty-eight years and 
may be extended fourteen years further if desired. 
Patent rights endure for seventeen years with privi- 
lege of seventeen years further extension if demanded. 

Judicial Powers. — Congress is given power to con- 
stitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court. Of 
this authority vv^e shall speak in a following chapter. 

Criminal Jurisdiction. — Congress has the power to 
define and punish piracies and felonies committed on 
the high seas, and offenses against the law of nations. 
The necessity for giving to the national government 
the control over these matters of admiralty and 
international law is too obvious to require comment. 
Incidentally, as has been before said. Congress, in 
order to render effective its other express powers, 
has an extensive criminal jurisdiction for the punish- 
ment of all offenders against federal law, and over all 
offenses committed within those places over which it 
has exclusive jurisdiction as, for example, the territories, 
the District of Columbia, United States forts, arsenals, 
navy yards, etc. 

War Powers. — To Congress is given the power of 
declaring war, of raising and supporting armies, of pro- 
viding and maintaining a navy, and of making rules for 
their government and regulation. 



POWERS OF CONGRESS 1 93 

The President is the Commander in Chief of the Army 
and Navy and hence may direct their operations in the 
field and on the sea, and appoint their officers. But he 
must look to Congress for the laws providing for their 
establishment and maintenance. The provision of the 
Constitution that appropriations of money for the sup- 
port of the army shall not be for a term longer than 
two years was inserted in order to place it beyond the 
power of the President and Congress to carry on a war 
without the control of the people, who, in the next con- 
gressional election are thus enabled, if they so desire, 
to elect representatives who will reverse a war policy of 
which they disapprove. Though the President is the 
Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, and there- 
fore has complete control over their operations in time 
of war, yet he never himself takes the field, but hands 
over his authority to officers appointed by him, and 
reserves to himself only the right to interpose his power 
of direction in exceptional cases. 

By the power of granting letters of marque and re- 
prisal which the Constitution gives to Congress is meant 
the authority to empower private persons to fit out pri- 
vateers or armed vessels to prey upon an enemy's com- 
merce. 

Militia. — Congress has power " to provide for call- 
ing forth the militia to execute the laws of the Union, 
suppress insurrections, and repel invasions." And also 
"to provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the 
militia, and for governing such part of them as may be 
employed in the service of the United States, reserving 
to the states respectively the appointment of the officers, 

WIL. AM. CIT. — 13 



194 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

and the authority of training the militia according to the 
discipUne prescribed by Congress." 

By act of Congress the mihtia consists of all .able- 
bodied male citizens between i8 and 45 years of age. 

The organized militia, termed the National Guard, 
consists of state troops, is regulated by state law, is 
largely maintained at state expense, and may be called 
out by the Governors of the states when necessary to 
enforce state law. When, however, its assistance is 
needed for the enforcement of federal law, its members 
are paid the same as the regular troops of the federal 
government, and are subject to the same regulations. 
Congress has given to the President the power to call for 
the aid of the militia when he deems it necessary, and 
this has been done three times in our history. First in 
1794, to enforce the federal revenue law in western 
Pennsylvania ; second, in the War of 1812 ; third, at the 
time of the outbreak of the late Civil War. The recent 
call for troops for the Spanish War is not included in 
the above enumeration, as the militia was not called 
out as such. 

The District of Columbia. — To Congress is given the 
power " to exercise exclusive legislation in all cases 
whatsoever over such district (not exceeding ten miles 
square) as may, by cession of particular states, and the 
acceptance of Congress, become the seat of government 
of the United States." Similar complete authority is 
given over all other federal property, such as forts, 
arsenals, dockyards, etc. 

The District of Columbia is the seat of the federal 
government and contains about seventy square miles. 



POWERS OF CONGRESS 1 95 

and includes the city of Washington. The executive 
and judicial officers of this district are therefore ap- 
pointed by the President, while Congress serves as its 
legislature. Its inhabitants have no rights of suffrage 
at local or national elections. 

The Territories. — Congress is given the power to 
dispose of and make all needful rules and regulations 
respecting the territories. 

At the time of the adoption of the Constitution the 
federal government possessed jurisdiction over vast 
tracts of territory, which at that time were so thinly 
populated by white men that no pretense could be 
made of fully organized political control over them. 
At the same time it was plainly seen that the time 
would soon come when they would become more 
thickly populated, and would desire a participation 
in the rights and benefits of the Union. For this 
reason it was provided that, until that time should 
come. Congress should have complete authority over 
them, but when their population should warrant it, 
they should be allowed admission to the Union upon 
a complete equality with the original thirteen states. 
The provision of the Constitution as to this is as fol- 
lows : *' New states may be admitted by the Congress 
into this Union ; but no new state shall be formed or 
erected within the jurisdiction of any other state ; nor 
any state be formed by the junction of two or more 
states or parts of states without the consent of the 
legislature of the states concerned, as well as of the 
Congress." 

Besides the territory possessed by the United States 



196 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

in 1789, vast additional tracts have been obtained from 
France, Spain, Mexico, and Russia; the Hawaiian 
Islands also were annexed by the United States, with 
the consent of their government, in July, 1898. From 
this acquired territory and from that originally owned, 
thirty-two new states have been formed, and admitted 
into the Union in accordance with the above provi- 
sions of the Constitution. 

While in the territorial form, the laws and govern- 
ments of such lands are wholly within the control of 
Congress. At present there are five such areas, viz. : 
New Mexico, Arizona, Indian Territory, Oklahoma, and 
Alaska. Of these, Alaska and Indian Territory are 
what are called unorganized territories. In these, be- 
cause of the smallness of the white population, no 
attempt is made to estabhsh any regular local govern- 
ment, but they are governed directly by a Governor 
appointed by the President and by such laws as Con- 
gress chooses to make. 

The government of the remaining, or organized, terri- 
tories is, in general, as follows : 

The executive of the territory is the Governor, ap- 
pointed by the President for a four-years term. There 
is also a Secretary similarly appointed and a Treasurer, 
Auditor, and Superintendent of Public Instruction ap- 
pointed by the Governor. The legislature consists of 
two Houses, a Council and a House of Representatives. 
These are elected by the people of the territory, and 
have a term of two years. The legislature meets every 
other year. The extent of its powers depends upon the 
will of Congress, but is, in practice, almost as broad as 



POWERS OF CONGRESS I97 

that of the legislatures of the states, with the qualifica- 
tion that many of its acts may be annulled at any time 
by an act of Congress. The judiciary consists of three 
or more Judges, together with a District Attorney and 
a United States Marshal, appointed by the President. 
Territories send neither Senators nor Representatives 
to Congress, but have one Delegate apiece in the House, 
who may speak but not vote. 

Admission of a Territory as a State. — A territory is 
an embryo state. As soon as a territory becomes suffi- 
ciently populated it applies for admission into the 
Union as a state, and such admission is accomplished 
in the following manner : When an application for 
statehood is made by a territory, it is considered by 
Congress, and, if approved, the inhabitants of the terri- 
tory are authorized to form for themselves out of such 
territory a state government, and thus prepare them- 
selves for admission into the Union. This is termed 
the enabling act. 

A state government is formed as follows : The Gov- 
ernor of the territory issues a proclamation declaring 
that on a certain date there shall be held an election of 
delegates to a convention, such convention to be held 
at a specified time. These delegates are elected by 
popular vote. The members of the convention thus 
formed declare that they, on behalf of the people of the 
territory adopt the Constitution of the United States, 
and then proceed to draft a state constitution and gov- 
ernment. It is provided that this constitution shall be 
republican in form, and make no distinction in civil and 
political rights on account of race or color, except for 



198 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

Indians not taxed ; that it shall not be repugnant to the 
Constitution of the United States and the principles of 
the Declaration of Independence. Perfect religious 
toleration must be guaranteed. All right or title to the 
unappropriated public lands lying within the territory 
must be disclaimed and given over to the United States. 
Provision must also be made by the constitution for 
the maintenance of a system of public schools. 

After adoption by the convention the constitution is 
offered to the people for ratification. If it is ratified, 
the Governor certifies the fact to the President of the 
United States. Provided the constitution is found to 
comply with all the conditions just mentioned, the 
President issues his proclamation declaring the ratifica- 
tion of the constitution, and upon the same day that the 
proclamation is issued the territory is deemed admitted 
by Congress into the Union as a state, on an equal 
footing with the original states, and entitled to repre- 
sentation in both Houses of the federal Congress. The 
Representatives and the Governor and other state offi- 
cers are usually elected on the same day as that upon 
which the constitution is ratified by the people. 

Implied Powers. — In the last clause of Section 8 of 
Article I it is said that Congress shall have the power 
'' to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper 
for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and 
all other powers vested by this Constitution in the gov- 
ernment of the United States or in any department or 
officer thereof." The significance of this clause we 
have explained in a previous chapter. 

Limitations upon the Federal Power. — Besides the 



POWERS OF CONGRESS 1 99 

implied restriction upon Congress that it shall not 
infringe on any of the powers of the judicial or execu- 
tive departments, or encroach upon the fields of activity- 
reserved by the Constitution to the individual states, in 
Section 9 of Article I it is expressly prohibited from 
exercising the following powers : 

1. To prohibit the slave trade prior to 1808. This 
power was exercised as soon as that date was reached. 

2. To suspend the writ of habeas corpus except when 
required in cases of rebellion or invasion. The nature 
of this writ has been explained in a previous chapter. 
It has been disputed whether the President or Congress 
has, under this clause, the right of suspending the writ. 
The general opinion is that the right belongs to Con- 
gress, though President Lincoln exercised it in the late 
Civil War. 

3. To pass a bill of attainder or ex post facto law. 
The meaning of both of these phrases has already been 
explained. 

4. To levy a capitation or other direct tax except in 
proportion to the populations of the individual states. 

5. To levy a tax or duty on articles exported from 
any state. 

6. To give a preference to the ports of any one state 
over those of another in the regulation of commerce or 
the collection of revenue ; or to require vessels bound 
from the port of one state to enter, clear, or pay duties 
in another. 

7. To draw money from the treasury, except in 
accordance with appropriations made by law. 

8. To grant titles of nobility. It is also provided 



200 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

that no person holding any office of profit or trust 
under the United States shall, without the consent of 
Congress, accept any present, emolument, office, or 
title, of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, 
or foreign state. 

Citizenship in the United States. — The meaning of 
citizenship in general we have considered in Part I 
of this book. Something more needs to be said as to 
citizenship in the United States because of peculiarities 
of application, due to the federal character of our gov- 
ernment. 

Previous to the Civil War and the Thirteenth Amend- 
ment, negro slavery existed in this country, and all 
Africans so held in servitude were not, in the eyes 
of the law, citizens either of the states in which they 
lived or of the United States. By the Emancipation 
Proclamation of President Lincoln, which took effect 
January i, 1863, slavery was abolished in those South- 
ern states which were in rebellion against the fed- 
eral government; and by the Thirteenth Amendment, 
adopted in 1865, slavery was constitutionally prohibited 
throughout the Union. This amendment reads as fol- 
lows : " Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, ex- 
cept as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall 
have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United 
States or any place subject to their jurisdiction." 

By the Fourteenth Amendment, adopted in 1868, it is 
declared that : '* All persons born or naturalized in the 
United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, 
are citizens of the United States and of the state 
wherein they reside." 



POWERS OF CONGRESS 201 

Henceforth there was to be no distinction between 
whites and black.^ as to citizenship. The Indians who 
maintained their tribal relations were to constitute the 
sole exception to the rule that birth within this country 
necessarily .jonfers citizenship. This amendment also 
put an end to that assertion, which had so long been 
made, that state citizenship is prior to and more fun- 
damental than national citizenship ; that is, that one 
became a citizen of the United States only because 
he was first a citizen of a particular state. 

From this it appears that every resident in the 
United States, not an alien, has a double citizenship ; 
first, of the United States, and secondly, of the state 
wherein he resides. 

To each of these citizenships different rights attach. 
"A citizen of the United States as such has a right to 
participate in foreign and interstate commerce, to have 
the benefi^^. of the postal laws, to make use in com- 
mon with others of the navigable waters of the United 
States, and to pass from state to state, and into foreign 
countries, because over all these subjects the jurisdiction 
of the United States extends, and they are covered by 
its laws. These, therefore, are among the privileges of 
citizens of the United States. So every citizen may 
petition the federal authorities which are set over him 
in respect to any matter of public concern ; may ex- 
amine the public records of the federal jurisdiction ; 
may visit the seat of government without being subject 
to the payment of a tax for the privilege ; may be 
purchaser of the public lands on the same terms with 
others ; may participate in the government if he comes 



202 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

within the conditions of suffrage ; and may demand the 
care and protection of the United States when on the 
high seas, or within the jurisdiction of a foreign govern- 
ment. The privileges suggest the immunity. Wherever 
it is the duty of the United States to give protection to 
a citizen against any harm, inconvenience, or depriva- 
tion, the citizen is entitled to an immunity which per- 
tains to federal citizenship." (Cooley.) 

Especially has the citizen the right to claim from 
the federal government a protection in this immunity 
against the action of the individual states, for the Four- 
teenth Amendment declares further that : " No state 
shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the 
privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; 
nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, 
or property without due process of law ; nor deny to 
any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection 
of the laws." The rights which pertain to state citizen- 
ship are those which pertain to those matters over 
which the states have jurisdiction. 

In order to prevent unjust discrimination by the 
states between their own citizens and those of other 
states. Section 2 of Article IV of the Constitution pro- 
vides that: ''The citizens of each state shall be entitled 
to all the privileges and immunities of citizens in the 
several states." That is, a citizen of one state living in 
another state, or owning property therein, has the same 
right to protection by that state that its own citizens 
have, nor can any state pass any law which affects a 
citizen of another state in any manner different from 
that in which it affects its own citizens. 



POWERS OF CONGRESS 203 

Suffrage, Fifteenth Amendment. — As before re- 
marked, the right to vote does not follow as a neces- 
sary consequence of citizenship. Hence the Thirteenth 
Amendment, granting freedom to the negroes, and the 
Fourteenth, conferring on them citizenship, did not give 
to them the suffrage. This privilege still lay in the 
individual states to give or withhold as they might see 
fit. After the emancipation of the slaves it was con- 
sidered that the best way to secure to them protection 
against unjust legislation on the part of their former 
masters, as well as to assist them in their political 
education, was to give them the right to vote, or to 
induce the states to give them that privilege. For this 
reason the second section was added to the Fourteenth 
Amendment, whereby it was provided that if the right 
to vote should be denied to any of the adult inhabitants 
of a state, that state's representation in Congress should 
be proportionately reduced. If, consequently, any of 
the Southern states should refuse to grant the suffrage 
to their large negro populations, the number of Repre- 
sentatives to which they would be entitled in Congress 
would be greatly reduced. This was a strong induce- 
ment to the Southern states to confer upon the negro 
the right to vote ; but it did not render it imperative 
upon them to do so. 

In 1870, however, the Fifteenth Amendment was 
adopted which compelled the state to grant to negroes 
the right to vote. The states still have the right to 
refuse the suffrage to certain classes of citizens, but 
they cannot base this refusal upon race, color, or pre- 
vious condition of servitude. 



CHAPTER VII 

UNITED STATES EXECUTIVE — THE PRESIDENT 

Election of the President and Vice President. — The 

Constitution provides that '* the executive power shall 
be vested in a President of the United States of Amer- 
ica." His term of office is fixed at four years, at the 
expiration of which he is eligible for reelection. No 
person except a natural-born citizen can be selected as 
President, and it is required that he shall have attained 
the age of thirty-five. The present constitutional pro- 
vision for electing the President, as given by the Twelfth 
Amendment, is a complicated one. It is provided that 
there shall be first selected a set of electors, collectively 
termed the Electoral College. Each state is allowed 
the selection of a number of these electors equal to the 
number of Senators and Representatives added together 
to which it is entitled in Congress. Each state may fix 
its own method of appointing or electing these electors, 
but in these days they are universally elected by popu- 
lar suffrage, that is, in an election in which all adult 
citizens, unless specifically disqualified, have a right to 
vote. These elections occur upon the first Tuesday 
after the first Monday in the November preceding the 
fourth of March when the new President is to be inaugu- 
rated. On the second Monday of the following January 

204 



UNITED STATES EXECUTIVE — THE PRESIDENT 205 

the electors meet and cast their votes for President and 
Vice President, and on the second Wednesday of Feb- 
ruary these votes are opened by Congress and counted, 
and at noon on the fourth day of the next March those 
elected President and Vice President are inducted into 
office. 

The electors in voting make distinct ballots for those 
voted for as President, and for those voted for as Vice 
President ; and the person having the greatest number 
of votes for President is declared elected if such a num- 
ber be a majority of the whole number of electors. If, 
however, no person have an absolute majority, the three 
highest names are selected by the House of Represent- 
atives from whom to elect the President. But in so 
electing, the House votes by states, the representation 
from each state having one vote. 

The method of electing the Vice President is the 
same, except that if no one has an absolute majority in 
the Electoral College, the two highest names are 
selected by the Senate from which to elect. In so 
electing, the Senate does not vote by states, but each 
Senator has one vote. An absolute majority of the 
votes cast is necessary for a selection both when the 
Senate is electing the Vice President and the House 
the President. 

Such, as matter of law, are the constitutional provi- 
sions for electing the President and Vice President. It 
was originally intended that the Electoral College should 
consist of the best men of the country, who should use 
their personal and individual judgment in making their 
choice. As a matter of fact, almost from the beginning 



206 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

this has been a mere matter of form, it being previously 
well known for whom the electors are expected to vote 
if elected. Thus it is that at present the electors for 
whom the people vote in November are all pledged to 
vote for particular candidates, and thus in fact, if not in 
form, the President and Vice President are elected by 
the people as much as if the people voted directly for 
them. 

Presidential Succession. — The provisions of the Con- 
stitution regarding the presidential succession, in the 
case of the death or resignation of both President 
and Vice President, are : " In case of the removal of the 
President from office, or of his death, resignation, or in- 
ability to discharge the powers and duties of the said 
office, the same shall devolve on the Vice President, 
and the Congress may by law provide for the case of 
removal, death, resignation, or inability both of the 
President and Vice President, declaring what officer 
shall then act as President, and such officer shall act 
accordingly until the disability be removed or a Presi- 
dent shall be elected." (Article II, Section i.) 

In pursuance of the power thus granted. Congress in 
1792 passed an act declaring that in case of the death, 
resignation, etc., of both the President and Vice Presi- 
dent, the succession should be first to the President of 
the Senate and then to the Speaker of the House. 

This order was changed by the act of 1887, which is 
now in force, and which provides that the succession to 
the presidency shall be as follows : 

1. President. 

2. Vice President. 



UNITED STATES EXECUTIVE — THE PRESIDENT 20/ 

3. Secretary of State. 

4. Secretary of the Treasury. 

5. Secretary of War. 

6. Attorney General. 

7. Postmaster General. 

8. Secretary of the Navy. 

9. Secretary of the Interior. 

In all cases the remainder of the four-years term 
shall be served out. This act regulates also the count- 
ing of the votes of the electors by Congress, and the 
determination of any points which may arise as to who 
are the legally chosen electors. 

None of the above officers can succeed to the office, 
however, unless they have the constitutional qualifica- 
tions for the presidency. 

The President may be removed from office before the 
expiration of his term, by impeachment. This has been 
but once attempted, and then unsuccessfully. 

Duties of the President. 

I. To see that the laivs are faithfully executed. — 
First and most important of all the duties of the 
President is to see that the laws of Congress are 
faithfully executed. By this it is not meant that he 
can personally see that this is done, but he it is, who, 
in the last resort, has not only the appointment of the 
chief executive officials but an oversight over their con- 
duct and the power to remove them in case of any dere- 
liction of duty. He receives information from them, 
can direct, when necessary, their policy, and can hold 
them responsible for the conduct of their subordinates. 
Through him the acts of Congress are officially pro- 



208 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

mulgated, and by him, if necessary, the army and navy 
of the United States, and the miUtia of the individual 
states may be called upon to overcome resistance to 
federal law. 

2. Foreig7i Relations. — The President, as the titular 
head and personal representative of the entire nation, 
is the one through whom, and in whose name, all the 
affairs of our country with foreign nations are con- 
ducted. In this he is assisted by the Secretary of 
State, but his is necessarily the directing hand. Though 
the consent of the Senate is necessary for the ratifi- 
cation of treaties, all of the preliminary negotiations 
leading up to the final treaty are wholly within his 
control. All foreign ambassadors, ministers, and cmi- 

^siils are appointed by him, with consent of the Senate. 

3. Legislative Pozver. — The President participates 
to a very considerable extent in the lawmaking power. 
In the first place, he exerts an influence in initiating 
laws. In annual and special written messages to 
Congress, he calls attention to the most important 
legislative needs of the country, and also reports to 
that body the manner in which its former laws have 
been executed. But far more important than this, he 
participates directly in the enactment of laws, for his 
consent is necessary for the enforcement of congres- 
sional enactments, unless the refusal of that assent be 
overcome by a two-thirds vote in both of the Houses of 
Congress. The President has also the power to convene 
both or either of the houses of Congress, when neces- 
sary, in extra session for the consideration of special 
matters ; and in case of disagreement between them at 



UNITED STATES EXECUTIVE — THE PRESIDENT 209 

any time with respect to the time of adjournment, may 
adjourn them to such time as he thinks proper. 

4. War Powers. — The President, as Commander in 
Chief of the army and navy, has enormous powers, 
especially in time of war. Under this authority the 
Emancipation Proclamation was issued, the writ of 
habeas cojfus suspended, a blockade of southern ports 
established, and, at the end of the Civil War steps 
taken to bring back the states that had been in rebel- 
lion to their normal status as members of the Union. 

5. Pardoning Power. — The President has the power 
to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the 
United States, except in cases of impeachment. In- 
volving, as it does, the reading of numerous petitions 
for clemency presented in behalf of prisoners, and an 
examination of the facts of their cases, this duty entails 
no small amount of labor. 

6. Appointing Poiuer. — Lastly, the President has 
extensive powers of appointment. The Constitution 
says that: "He shall nominate, and by and with the 
advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint ambas- 
sadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges of 
the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United 
States, whose appointments are not herein otherwise 
provided for, and which shall be established by law; 
but the Congress may by law vest the appointment of 
such inferior officers, as they may think proper in the 
President alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of 
departments." 

The Ci vil Service. — In 1850 the persons employed 
in the Civil Service of the United States government, 

WIL. AM. CIT. — 14 



2IO UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

that is, outside of the army and navy, numbered 32,952. 
In 1897 they numbered nearly 180,000. The appoint- 
ment of a great majority of these has been placed in 
the hands of the heads of the different executive 
departments, and of these about 90,000 are in what is 
called the "classified service." By this is meant that 
their appointments are based upon competitive exami- 
nations, and that they are in general removed only for 
cause, that is, for incompetency or misconduct. 

Of those offices, outside the classified service, the 
appointment to which is still in the hands of the Presi- 
dent or heads of departments, nearly 60,000 are fourth- 
class postmasters, that is, postmasters receiving less 
than $1000 salary per annum. The appointment of 
these, as well as of the clerks chosen by the heads 
of the executive departments does not require confirma- 
tion by the Senate. Of those places which do require 
such confirmation there are about 4800. Of these, 
about 3600 are postmasters who receive more than 
$1000 salary. These, in general, are ordinarily allowed 
to hold office for four years. Of the remaining officials 
who may be removed or appointed at any time by the 
President, and who are as a fact generally removed by 
an incoming President, if of a different political party 
from his predecessor, to make place for new appointees 
of his own political faith, the more important are diplo- 
matic officials, consular agents, heads of the different 
executive departments, and such other high executive 
officials as Commissioner of Internal Revenue, Treas- 
urer of the United States, Solicitor General, Interstate 
Commerce Commissioners, Comptroller of the Currency, 



UNITED STATES EXECUTIVE — THE PRESIDENT 211 

Commissioner of Patents, Commissioner of Pensions, 
Assistant Secretaries, Superintendents of ..Mints, Col- 
lectors of Customs, Collectors of Internal Revenue, 
Pension Agents, Land Agents, Indian Agents, District 
Attorneys, Marshals, Territorial Governors, etc. Many 
of these officials practically hold office for four years, 
and hence their places are filled only upon the expira- 
tion of their terms. 

Judges of the Supreme Court are appointed by the 
President and confirmed by the Senate, but as they 
hold office for life, vacancies occur only by death, resig- 
nation, or impeachment. 

All officials, for the appointment of whom there is no 
express provision of law, are nominated by the Presi- 
dent and confirmed by the Senate. 

All presidential nominations when sent to the Senate 
are referred to that committee which has to deal with 
that particular branch of the public service within 
which the office falls for which the nomination is made. 
The report of this committee is considered in executive 
session, and if there be an adverse vote, the nomination 
fails, and the President must submit another name, and 
so on until one is accepted. 

It is absolutely impossible for the President himself 
to consider the individual merits of every candidate for 
the thousands of offices which he has to fill. He there- 
fore has to rely in general upon the advice of the heads 
of the departments in which the appointments are to be 
made, or upon the recommendations of the Senators 
and Representatives of his party from the states in 
which the positions lie. This power of controlling the 



212 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

official patronage in one's own congressional district 
or state is an extremely important one to all Represent- 
atives and Senators, for through it they are able to 
reward those who have assisted them in their election. 
At the same time it is a thoroughly demoralizing factor. 
It results in the giving of offices as a reward for politi- 
cal services, rather than as a return for individual merit 
and fitness. It also entails a serious drain upon the 
Congressman's time, necessitating, as it does, an exami- 
nation of the respective claims and credentials of the 
numerous applicants for every position which has to be 
filled. For these reasons a very considerable number 
of Congressmen say that they would be glad to have 
these remaining unclassified positions placed under the 
civil service regulations. Having then few or no offices 
at their disposal, they would be released not only from 
the task of selecting incumbents, but relieved from 
the dissatisfaction of those applicants who are necessa- 
rily disappointed. 

In theory and in propriety the Senate in confirm.ing 
or rejecting nominations should be governed entirely by 
the merits of the persons whose names are submitted 
to them by the President. But, in fact, there has grown 
up what is almost a cast-iron rule, known as " senatorial 
courtesy," according to which the Senate will not con- 
firm one who is not acceptable to one or both of the 
Senators from the state in which the offices are situated, 
provided, that one or both of such Senators belong to 
the political party which is in the majority in the Senate. 

Civil Service Reform. — We have spoken of certain 
offices being in the "classified service," that is, having 



UNITED STATES EXECUTIVE —THE PRESIDENT 213 

their incumbents selected by competitive tests, and pro- 
tected from removal except for good cause. At the 
beginning of our history under our present constitution 
the President was conceded, by an unwritten law, to 
have the sole power of removal from office, — a power 
which might be exercised at his own discretion. That 
is, he might base its exercise either upon a stated cause, 
or upon no given reason. During the first forty years, 
until the inauguration of Jackson in 1829, but seventy- 
three removals were made. But President Jackson 
initiated the iniquitous '* Spoils System " based upon 
the principle that "To the victor belong the spoils." 
In accordance with this principle the entrance of every 
new political party into power is to be followed by 
indiscriminate dismissals, in order to make places for 
appointees from the victorious side. In one year 
Jackson made ten times as many removals as had 
been made throughout the ten preceding administra- 
tions. 

The system thus begun was followed by succeeding 
Presidents to a greater extent aid without check until 
the evil became so grievous that in 1883 was passed 
the first Civil Service Reform Act, otherwise known 
as the Pendleton Act. This measure provided for com- 
petitive examinations to be held for a few specified 
positions. It was also provided that appointments, so 
far as possible, should be distributed among the differ- 
ent states and territories in proportion to their popu- 
lation. Since that day the merit system has been 
successively extended over new branches of the public 
service, until now it provides for nearly 90,000 officials. 



214 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

None of these require confirmation of their appointment 
by the Senate. 

It is a subject for great congratulation that civil 
service reform has thus far progressed, and it is to 
be hoped that it may be extended in the near future 
to a majority of the remaining 90,000 offices of the 
federal service. 

In many of our states, and especially in our larger 
cities, the spoils system is still rampant and, leading as 
it does to inevitable corruption and official incapacity, 
the influence of every good citizen should be directed 
to its abatement and abolishment. It is safe to say that 
could we once get suitable state and national legislators 
elected, and competent officials appointed, all the other 
reforms in the governmental service would come of 
themselves. The best of systems cannot be made to 
give satisfactory results if administered by corrupt and 
incompetent officials ; while a very defective one can, 
if honestly and intelligently operated, be trusted not 
only to give fairly good results, but can be depended 
upon to correct itself, and thus ultimately to yield the 
very best of fruits. 




CHAPTER VIII 

THE CABINET AND EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS 

Introductory. — The Constitution simply declares that 
the executive power shall be vested in the President 
of the United States, but it was not intended that all 
of the executive work of the federal government should 
be performed by him. Although no specific executive 
departments were provided for, it was evidently intended 
that some should be created, for it is stated in one 
clause that the President may require in writing opin- 
ions from the heads of executive departments, and also 
in another place, that Congress may, at its discretion, 
vest the appointment of inferior officials in the hands 
of such executive chiefs. 

Accordingly, Congress has from time to time created 
such departments until now there are nine, to wit: (i) 
State; (2) Treasury; (3) War; (4) Navy; (5) Interior; 
(6) Post Office; (7) Justice; (8) Agriculture; (9) Labor. 
These departments have been created as required by 
the growth of governmental duties. Three of them, the 
State, Treasury, and War were created by the First Con- 
gress, in 1789. By the same Congress was created the 
office of Attorney General of the United States, and the 
Attorney General, together with the Secretaries of the 
three departments, constituted President Washington's 

215 



2l6 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

first Cabinet. The Navy Department was added in 1798. 
Prior to that date, naval affairs had been managed by 
the War Department. A Post Office for the colon^s^ 
was estabHshed by the Postal Act of Queen Anne's 
reign. The Post Office Department under the present 
government was estabHshed in 1 789, but the Postmaster 
General did not become a cabinet officer until 1829. 
The Interior Department was created in 1849, by group- 
ing together in one department several branches of the 
government service which had formerly been distributed 
among the other departments. As early as 1839 the 
Patent Office, under the Interior Department, was in- 
trusted with various duties concerning the agricultural 
interests of the country, among the chief of which was 
the distribution of seeds. In 1862 a separate Depart- 
ment of Agriculture was established, and these duties 
were transferred to it. In 1889 the head of the depart- 
ment was made a Secretary and a cabinet officer. A 
Bureau of Labor, under the Interior Department, was 
created in 1884. In 1888 Congress constituted it a 
separate department, but did not make its head a Sec- 
retary, and therefore not a cabinet officer. 

The heads of the first eight of these departments 
together form a council of eight, called the "Cabinet," 
whose duty it is, in addition to the management of the 
departments, to advise the President on matters of 
importance. For this purpose regular meetings are 
held twice a week, at which the affairs of government 
are discussed and lines of action decided upon. The 
Cabinet is neither the creation of the Constitution nor, 
strictly, of law. The existence of a cabinet, however. 



THE CABINET AND EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS 21/ 

was always taken for granted in the discussion and 
formation of the Constitution. It has no powers other 
than of advice and counsel to the President. 

The growth of executive and administrative business 
is not fully indicated by the increase in the number of 
departments. The growth within each department has 
been much greater. Separate bureaus and divisions 
have been created, which in some cases are, for all 
practical purposes, as independent and important as 
some of the departments themselves. 

The organization of all the different departments is 
much the same. At the head of each is an officer 
appointed by the President, the President thus having 
control generally over the whole executive business of 
the government. These head officers are called Secre- 
taries, except in the cases of the Post Office Depart- 
ment, whose head is the Postmaster General, of the 
Department of Justice, whose head is the Attorney 
General, and of the Labor Department, whose chief 
is termed Commissioner. In a number of the depart- 
ments there are also one, two, three, or four assistant 
secretaries, according as the business of the depart- 
ments requires. For convenience in the despatch of 
business, the departments are divided into bureaus, the 
bureaus into divisions, and the divisions into rooms, 
until, finally, the individual workers — the clerks — are 
reached. Each bureau has at its head an officer called 
a Commissioner, and each division a Chief. Each de- 
partment and bureau, and, in some cases, the division 
also, has a chief clerk who has charge of the details 
of the administration and immediate oversight of the 



2l8 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

clerks. All work in one finely organized system. The 
clerk is responsible to his Chief of Division, the Chief 
of Division to his Commissioner, the Commissioner to 
the Secretary, and he, finally, to the President and 
Congress. Each man has his particular place in the 
system, and no one works at random. 

The following description of the duties performed by 
these departments will serve to show how the executive 
service is organized, and what, in the main, are the 
most important functions of the federal government. 

The State Department — The Department of State 
was the first department established. (Act of July 27, 
1789.) There are now three Assistant Secretaries. 
Their salaries are : Secretary, ^8000 ; First Assistant, 
$4000, and the other two $3500. The department is 
divided into seven bureaus, (i) Diplomatic; (2) Con- 
sular ; (3) Archives and Indexes ; (4) Accounts ; (3) Sta- 
tistics ; (6) Rolls and Library, and (7) Claims. 

The Secretary of State is charged, under the direc- 
tion of the President, with the duties appertaining to 
correspondence with the public ministers and consuls 
of the United States, and the representatives of foreign 
powers accredited to the United States, and with nego- 
tiations of whatever character relating to the foreign 
affairs of the United States. He is also the medium 
of correspondence between the President and the chief 
executives of the several states of the United States. 
He has the custody of the great seal of the United 
States, and countersigns and affixes this seal to all 
executive proclamations, to various commissions, and to 
warrants for pardon and the extradition of fugitives 



THE CABINET AND EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS 219 

from justice. He is regarded as the first in rank 
among the members of the Cabinet. He is also cus- 
todian of the treaties made with foreign states, and of 
the laws of the United States. He grants and issues 
passports. Exequaturs to foreign consuls in the United 
States are issued through his office. He publishes the 
laws and resolutions of Congress, amendments to the 
Constitution, and proclamations declaring the admission 
of new states into the Union. He is required also to 
make certain annual reports to Congress relating to 
commercial information received from diplomatic and 
consular officials of the United States. 

The patronage of the Secretary at Washington is 
small, about sixty clerks, but that which concerns the 
diplomatic and consular service is important. To 
facilitate communications and negotiations with foreign 
nations, and to protect the interests of American citi- 
zens in foreign countries, the United States, in com- 
mon with all civilized nations, has, as we have already 
learned, representatives residing at the capitals of all 
the principal nations. This system, called the Diplo- 
matic Service, is under the charge of a separate bureau. 
The United States has ambassadors or ministers in 
about thirty-three countries. The chief legations are 
those of Great Britain, France, Germany, and Russia. 
The salary attached to each of these legations is 
;^ 1 7, 500. The social demands upon ministers are 
great, and, as a rule, the expenses of ambassadors 
are greater than their salaries. Representatives of the 
greater foreign powers receive a much larger compen- 
sation than do ours. 



220 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

To protect our commercial interests abroad, and our 
seamen and vessels in foreign ports, the United States 
has agents resident in all foreign seaports of any 
prominence. Their duties are numerous. They ship 
seamen, certify invoices, take testimony, examine emi- 
grants, etc. They transmit to the State Department 
monthly reports concerning any matter of commercial 
interest occurring at their stations. These reports are 
published by the department and have a wide gratui- 
tous circulation. This system is called the Consular 
Service, and is also under the charge of a separate 
bureau. These agents are of three ranks and titles : 
(i) Consuls General; (2) Consuls; (3) Consular Agents. 
The names of the other bureaus indicate the nature of 
the duties performed by each. 

The Treasury Department. — This department was 
created by act of September 2, 1789. There are two 
Assistant Secretaries. The department has a large 
number of divisions, with the following chief officers : 
(i) The Comptrollers ; (2) the Auditors; (3) Treasurer; 
(4) Register; (5) Commissioner of Customs; (6) Com- 
missioner of Internal Revenue ; (7) Comptroller of the 
Currency ; (8) Chief of the Bureau of Statistics ; (9) Su- 
perintendent of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing ; 
(10) Director of the Mint; (11) Superintendent of the 
Life Saving Service; (12) Supervising Surgeon General 
of the Marine Hospital Service; (13) Supervising In- 
spector General of Steam Vessels. Other offices are, the 
Supervising Architect, Commissioner of Navigation, So- 
licitor of the Treasury, Chairman of the Light House 
Board, and Superintendent of Coast and Geodetic Survey. 



THE CABINET AND EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS 221 

The mention of the various divisions indicates the im- 
portance and variety of the duties coming under this 
department. The Secretary is charged with the entire 
management of the national finances. He submits 
annually to Congress estimates of the probable revenues 
and disbursements of the government, prepares plans 
for the improvement of the revenue and for the support 
of the public credit, and superintends the collection of 
the revenue. Two Comptrollers pass upon all claims 
against the government and accounts received from the 
Auditors. Six Auditors examine and adjust accounts 
relating to the expenditures of the various branches of 
the government. 

The Treasurer of the United States receives and 
keeps its moneys, disburses them on the Secretary's 
warrants, and manages the Independent Treasury 
System. The Independent or Sub-Treasury System 
was adopted by Congress in 1846. According to this 
system the Treasury Department is rendered independ- 
ent of the banking system of the country. Sub- 
Treasuries have been established in the principal 
cities of the Union for the receipt and disbursement 
of public moneys. There are sub-treasuries in New 
York, San Francisco, St. Louis, Chicago, Boston, Phil- 
adelphia, Baltimore, New Orleans, and Cincinnati. For 
greater convenience moneys are also sometimes de- 
posited at certain designated banks. 

The Register of the Treasury is the official book- 
keeper of the United States. The Collectors of Cus- 
toms and of Internal Revenue have charge respectively 
of the collection of custom duties and internal revenue 



222 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

taxes. The Comptroller of the Currency has control of 
the national banks. The Chief of the Bureau of Statis- 
tics collects and publishes the statistics of our foreign 
commerce. In the Bureau of Engraving and Printing 
are designed, engraved, and printed all government 
bonds, national bank notes, drafts. United States notes, 
etc., for which work about 1200 persons are employed. 
The Director of the Mint has general supervision over 
all mints and assay offices. In addition to his annual 
report he publishes yearly a report on the statistics of 
the production of precious metals. 

The titles of the other officers indicate the general 
duties of each. The whole department employs about 
3400 persons at Washington. 

The War Department. — The War Department was 
established August 7, 1789. There is one Assistant 
Secretary. The chiefs of the bureaus into which the 
department is divided are officers of the United States 
Army, and constitute a part of the military establish- 
ment. Their titles and duties are as follows: (i) The 
Adjutant General of the Army, who has under him a 
large force of clerks, has the duties of issuing orders, 
conducting the correspondence of the department, and 
keeping the record ; (2) The Inspector General, who 
inspects and reports upon the condition of the army at 
all points, and the accounts of the disbursing officers; 
(3) The Quartermaster General, who has charge of the 
clothing, quarters, and supplies, except food supplies, 
which form the province of the Commissary General. 
The Surgeon General, who has charge of the medical 
department, of the army medical museum, and of a 



THE CABINET AND EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS 223 

special library. The Chief of Engineers, who has 
charge of the construction of fortifications, etc. The 
Judge Advocate General, who reviews the proceedings 
of courts-martial, and advises the Secretary on points of 
law. There are also a Paymaster General, a Chief of 
Ordnance, and a Chief Signal Officer. The Chief 
Signal Officer has charge of the systems of communi- 
cating with distant points by means of various signals, 
the most noteworthy of which is that of the heliograph, 
by which information is conveyed by the use of sun- 
reflecting mirrors. 

The War Department corresponds more nearly than 
any other to the Departments of Public Works found 
in other governments. All public improvements, the 
construction of docks, bridges, and the improvement of 
rivers and harbors, are under the supervision of army 
engineers. All Arctic explorations and the explorations 
of our western territory have been conducted by army 
or navy officers under the direction of the Secretary 
of War. 

The publication of war records is conducted by a 
special board in the War Department. A large num- 
ber of volumes has already been published. It is esti- 
mated that there will be one hundred and nineteen 
volumes when the work is completed. The Secretary 
of War also has charge of the Military Academy at 
West Point, of certain national parks, and homes for 
disabled soldiers. 

Congress appropriates and expends through the War 
Department $400,000 yearly on the National Guard 
(militia) for its armament and equipment. The aggre- 



224 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

gate of this reserve army, regularly organized and uni- 
formed, is over 100,000 men. The Secretary also details 
army officers to furnish military instruction at various 
colleges. 

The Navy Department. — The Navy Department was 
established April 30, 1798. There is one Assistant 
Secretary. The routine work of the department is 
distributed among eight bureaus : (i) Yards and Docks; 
(2) Equipment and Recruiting ; (3) Navigation ; (4) Ord- 
nance ; (5) Construction and Repair; (6) Steam Engi- 
neering; (7) Provisions and Clothing; (8) Medicine and 
Surgery. The chiefs of the bureaus are officers of the 
United States Navy. There is a hydrographic office 
attached to the bureau of navigation, which prepares 
maps, charts, and nautical books relating to navigation, 
and makes investigations concerning marine meteor- 
ology. This department has charge of the Naval 
Observatory for which new buildings are now being 
constructed at Washington. The department publishes 
yearly, for the guidance of seamen, the Nautical Alma- 
nac, the preparation of which is intrusted to a separate 
bureau. The department also compiles and publishes 
naval records of the Civil War, and has charge of the 
Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland. 

The Interior Department. — The Interior Department 
was created in 1849, to take charge of various duties 
not properly belonging to any of the existing depart- 
ments. There are two Assistant Secretaries besides 
the head Secretary^ The chiefs of the bureaus into 
which this department is divided, and their respective 
duties, are as follows : 



THE CABINET AND EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS 225 

The Commissioner of the General Land Office has 
charge of all the public lands of the federal govern- 
ment, their care, supervision, sale, and distribution. 

Prior to 1781 but six of the original thirteen states — 
New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Maryland, Pennsyl- 
vania, Niew Jersey, and Delaware — had exactly defined 
boundaries. The others claimed lands of various ex- 
tents, stretching to the Mississippi River, or even to 
the Pacific Ocean. The title to all this land was then 
in the individual states, and the national government, 
as such, had no land of its own. This question of the 
ownership of the western land was one of the subjects 
of controversy and discontent between the states. It 
delayed the adoption of the Articles of Confederation 
for some time. Those states with little or no land 
regarded with jealousy their more fortunate neighbors, 
and would not consent to a union until a settlement or 
understanding was reached. 

The Articles of Confederation were adopted only after 
assurance was made that all the public lands should be 
ceded to the federal government. This was finally done 
by the states. 

The government formed under the Constitution suc- 
ceeded to all this land, and in addition, to further ces- 
sions made by the states, the last being that of Georgia 
in 1802. The subsequent additions of territory were 
made directly to the United States, and not to the 
states, and all land thus gained was held as public 
land, to be disposed of by Congress. 

While the area of the United States is 3,668,167 
square miles, the public domain which has been ac- 

WIL. AM. CIT. — 15 



226 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

quired by cession, purchase, or conquest, to be disposed 
of by the government as it desires, has amounted to 
2,708,388 square miles, or about two thirds of the total 
area of the country. 

The absolute title to this land, as before stated, 
became vested in the United States government. The 
disposal of these lands has always been under the sole 
power and control of Congress. 

Much of this land was thinly populated by Indian 
tribes, who merely hunted over it, leaving unimproved 
its natural fertility and vast mineral resources. These 
tribes, being actual occupants, were recognized to have 
a sort of half interest in the land. This half ownership 
was always first extinguished by the United States by 
purchase for small sums, or by the granting of certain 
privileges, before the land was opened up for settlement 
and occupation by the white man. Land is still held to a 
considerable extent in this way by the Indians. This 
right of the Indians can be extinguished only by the 
United States, as the red men are not allowed to 
sell or treat with individuals or the states or foreign 
nations. 

Until 18 12 the affairs of the public domain were man- 
aged by the Secretary of the Treasury. In that year 
the office of Commissioner of the General Land Office 
was created, which remained a bureau under the Treas- 
ury Department until 1846. Upon the creation of the 
Interior Department in that year, land affairs were 
transferred to it, and have remained under the same 
management until the present time. This bureau has 
complete charge of all matters relating to the manage- 



THE CABINET AND EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS 22/ 

ment and disposal of the public lands, subject to the 
direction of Congress. 

A wide variety of methods of disposing of this land 
has been followed. The government has, however, 
never assumed the position of landlord and rented the 
land, except in one case of some mineral land, and this 
experiment resulted disastrously. Before the land could 
be disposed of, it was necessary that it should be sur- 
veyed by the government. To do this there was 
adopted as early as 1 796 the so-called rectangular system, 
which, with slight changes, has been continued until the 
present time. By this system there are first surveyed a 
base and a meridian line, crossing each other at right an- 
gles, running north and south and east and west. From 
these fixed lines the land is surveyed and marked off 
into rectangles of six miles square, each thus containing 
thirty-six square miles. This is called a township. This 
is again divided up into sections of one square mile each 
or 640 acres, and this again into quarter sections of 160 
acres each. In some cases these last are still further 
subdivided. 

The regulation and disposition of the public lands has 
been one of the chief duties imposed upon Congress. 

The chief methods by which the public lands have 
been disposed of are as follows : 

I . Educational Grants. — Congress from the very first 
provided liberally for the establishment of common 
schools through grants of public lands for this purpose. 
As each township is surveyed, one quarter section of 
640 acres is set apart for common schools. This has 
continued from the beginning to the present time. In 



228 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

addition, large grants have been made specially for 
the endowment of universities. Within later years land 
has been given to every state to found state military and 
agricultural colleges. 

2. Lajid Bounties for Military and Naval Service. — 
There have been granted by different acts bounties of 
public land, in the nature of pensions, to the soldiers and 
sailors of the United States Army, on their honorable 
discharge, for their service to the government. 

3. To the States for Internal Improvement. — There 
was granted to the states during the years from 1828 to 
1846, for the improvement of rivers, building of canals, 
wagon roads, railroads, etc., 162,230,099 acres. 

4. Sale of Pnblic Land. — Under this head there are 
two classes of public land ; first, that which may be 
bought for the minimum rate of ^1.25 per acre, and, 
secondly, the alternate sections along the railroads (the 
other alternate sections being granted to the railroads), 
the minimum price of which is ^2.50. There have been 
sold in all some two hundred miUion acres. 

5. Uiider the Preemption Acts. — These acts, passed 
at various times, provide that where a man, a citizen of 
the United States, settles upon and cultivates for a cer- 
tain length of time, a tract of land not greater than 160 
acres, the United States will give him such tract. 

6. Under the Homestead Acts. — The homestead 
laws have created a better and more certain manner for 
settlers to acquire land than under the preemption acts. 
By these acts it is provided that in certain regions any 
citizen who will select either 160 acres of the ^1.25 
land, or 80 of the ^2.50 land, can get a permit from 



TH£ CABINET AND EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS 229 

the land office, settle on the land, and acquire a title 
to it. 

7. Under the Ti7nbei'- Ctiltui'e Act. — This act gives 
to any one the right to 160 acres of the $1.25 land if he 
will plant 10 acres in timber, or 80 acres of the ;^2.50 
land if he will plant 5 acres in timber. 

8. Certain Lands to States. — A large quantity of the 
public land has been given to the states on account of 
its character, as swamp or overflowed land, and for 
various other reasons. 

9. Grajits to Pacific and other Railroad Companies. — 
From 1850 to 1872 a total of 150,504,994 acres was 
given for railroad construction. 

The Commissioner of Pensions has charge of the grant- 
ing of pensions to old soldiers and sailors. He has a 
large force at Washington. There are eighteen pension 
agencies in different parts of the country. In 1808 the 
United States assumed all the state pension obligations. 
The act of 1818 gave pensions to all who had served 
nine months in the Revolutionary War. Other wars 
were afterwards included. Pension acts passed as a 
result of the Civil War have enormously increased the 
amount paid. The report of the commissioner shows 
that at the close of the fiscal year of 1896 the number 
of pensioners was 970,678, and the annual expenditures 
for pensions ^139,280,078.15. 

To the disability pension law passed June 27, 1890, 
is largely due this enormous pension list. This act is 
the first disability pension law in the history of the 
world which grants to soldiers and sailors pensions for 
disabilities which are not proved to have been incurred 



230 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

in the service and in the line of duty. Speaker Reed 
of the House characterized it as '' the most generous 
piece of pension legislation ever passed by any nation 
on earth." 

The Commissioner of Patents has charge of the grant- 
ing of patents. Up to 1793 the granting of letters- 
patent was given to a board consisting of the Secretary 
of State, Secretary of War, and the Attorney General, 
the records and models being kept in the Department 
of State. In 1793 the granting of patents was given 
exclusively to the Secretary of State. In 1821 the 
clerk of the State Department who examined applica- 
tions for patents received the title of Superintendent of 
the Patent Office, and on July 4, 1836, the Patent Office 
was established as a separate bureau of the Interior 
Department and the office of Commissioner of Patents 
was created. 

About twenty-four thousand patents are issued 
annually. There is an Assistant Commissioner in 
chief, an Examiner of Interferences, three Examiners 
in chief, thirty-eight Principal Examiners, and a large 
force of Assistant Examiners for different branches. 
Patents run for seventeen years. The annual receipts 
of the bureau from fees more than equal the expendi- 
tures, and the office now has a surplus of several mil- 
lions to its credit in the treasury. 

The Commissioner of Indian Affairs has charge of all 
matters concerning the Indians, their education, gov- 
ernment, and support. There are 239 Indian schools 
supported by appropriations made by Congress, 147 of 
which are controlled directly by the Indian Bureau. 



THE CABINET AND EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS 23 1 

The average attendance of pupils at these schools is 
somewhere between eleven and twelve thousand. The 
number of Indians in our country (not counting those 
of Alaska) is about two hundred and fifty thousand. 
They occupy or have control of about one hundred and 
eighty-five million acres of land. This amount is being 
yearly decreased. 

The Bureau of Education was originally established as 
an independent department by act of Congress, ap- 
proved by the President March 2, 1867. By an act 
of Congress which took effect July i, 1869, this depart- 
ment was changed to an office or bureau in the Interior 
Department. The duties of this bureau are to collect 
and diffuse information regarding schools, methods of 
instruction, and school discipline, etc., and otherwise to 
promote the cause of education. The results of the 
investigations here carried on are of the utmost value 
to all educators, and such is the extent to which the 
merit of the work and publications of this office are 
recognized by the leading educators of the country, that, 
in their opinion, the bureau should be reestablished as 
a department, and its chief made a member of the 
President's Cabinet. The publications of the bureau 
consist of {\) AiiJinal Reports, which set forth statistics 
and general information concerning the educational 
systems of the states, territories, larger cities, universi- 
ties, and colleges ; professional, special, and scientific 
schools, academies, preparatory schools, and kinder- 
gartens, with a summary of the progress of education 
in foreign countries ; (2) Special Reports on subjects 
pertinent to the times ; (3) Occasio7ial Bulletins on 



232 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

matters of current educational interest ; (4) Circulars 
of hiforrnatioii on important questions of educational 
work or history, which are issued in yearly series. 
Numerous annual reports have been issued. The 
working force of the bureau is divided into three divi- 
sions ; first, Records ; second. Statistics ; third, Library 
and Museum. The library of this office contains one of 
the most valuable pedagogical collections in the country. 
The Commissioner of Railroads has charge of the gov- 
ernment's interest in certain railroads to which the 
United States has granted loans of credit or subsidies 
in lands or bonds. By the acts of July i, 1862, and 
July I, 1864, Congress, in order to encourage the build- 
ing of a trans-continental railroad, granted to several 
Pacific railroad companies subsidies of land adjacent to 
the roads, and issued certain amounts of bonds on 
which was guaranteed interest at the rate of six per 
cent. The amounts of lands given and bonds issued 
were in proportion to the number of miles of road con- 
structed. The lands were a gift. The bonds were to 
be repaid by the companies with all interest which might 
have been advanced by the government. From 1850 
to 1872 the various railroads received a total of 155,- 
504,994 acres of land and ^147,110,069 proceeds of 
bonds and interest paid by the United States. The 
roads have repaid of this amount ^36,723,477, leaving 
at the present time due from the roads to the United 
States the sum of $110,386,592. This they will be 
unable to pay upon the maturity of the bonds, and a 
bill has been before Congress for several sessions look- 
ing toward a better adjustment of this debt. The Com- 



THE CABINET AND EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS 233 

missioner of Railroads was originally styled the Auditor 
of Railroad Accounts. The office was created in 1878. 

Geological Survey. — This branch of the Interior 
Department was established in 1879. Its work is the 
investigation and determination of the geological struc- 
ture of the various sections of the country, the composi- 
tion of soils, the reclamation of waste lands, etc. In 
this bureau, topographical and irrigation surveys of arid 
regions of the United States are made. In its publica- 
tions are to be found a discussion of the geological 
structure of every state and territory, and information 
concerning the occurrence and production of each great 
metallic and mineral staple of the country. The bureau 
comprises one Geographical, twelve Geological, six Pa- 
leontological, and four accessory divisions. A division 
of Mines and Mining publishes an annual report on the 
mineral resources and production of the United States. 

The Superintendent of Census is appointed each dec- 
ade for the purpose of taking the regular decennial 
census. The Eleventh Census is the last taken. The 
first was taken in 1790. Each census has shown 
a tendency to be more elaborate and to embrace a 
greater number of subjects than the one preceding. 
There were employed in the taking of the Eleventh 
Census 42,000 enumerators, 2000 clerks, from 800 to 
900 special agents, 175 supervisors, and 25 experts. 

In addition to these eight bureaus, the Interior 
Department has charge of various other branches of 
government. All of the territories come under the 
Secretary's supervision, and look to him in case of 
any difficulty. The Secretary also has charge of the 



234 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

Yellowstone National Park, the Hot Springs Reservation 
in Arkansas, and of certain hospitals and eleemosynary- 
institutions in the District of Columbia. A Superin- 
tendent of Public Documents looks after the receipts, 
distribution, and sale of government publications. 

The Post Office Department. — The Post Office De- 
partment was established in 1789, but the Postmaster 
General did not become a cabinet officer until 1829. 
The Postmaster General has charge and management 
of the department, and of the domestic and foreign 
mail service. He can establish post offices and appoint 
postmasters of the fourth and fifth classes, i.e.^ those 
whose salaries are less than ^1000. These number 
over 60,000. The total number of post offices is about 
70,000. The President appoints to those of the first 
three classes. Other officers besides the Assistant 
Postmaster General are the Superintendents of the 
Money Order Division, of Foreign Mails, and of the 
Railway Mail Service, and an Assistant Attorney Gen- 
eral for the department. 

The United States is a member of the Universal 
Postal Union, of which most, if not all, of the civilized 
countries are members. The central office is known as 
the International Bureau of the Universal Postal Union, 
and is conducted under the superintendence of the 
Swiss Postal Administration ; its expenses are borne in 
common by all the nations composing the union. The 
revenues of the Postal Department nearly equal the 
expenditures, and would have exceeded them before 
this but for the fact that as soon as the amount of 
receipts has warranted it, improvements have been 



THE CABINET AND EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS 235 

made in the service through the reduction of postage 
rates and the extension of the free deHvery system. It 
has never been the pohcy of the government to make 
this department a source of revenue. 

The patronage of the Post Office Department is the 
most important of any of the departments, and it is very 
largely for this reason that the Postmaster General is a 
member of the cabinet. Crawford of South Carolina 
secured, in 1820, the passage of an act limiting the term 
of postmasters to four years. The appointment of post- 
masters does not come under the Civil Service Act.- It 
is one of the aims of Civil Service reformers to secure 
the appointment of postmasters under its provisions. 
The most important questions of public policy con- 
cerning this department are the reduction of postage 
rates on letters to one cent, the advisability of the 
establishment of a postal telegraph service, the exten- 
sion of the free delivery system, and the relation of 
the department to the Civil Service regulations. 

The Department of Justice. — The office of the Attor- 
ney General of the United States was established in 
1789; the Department of Justice not until 1870. The 
Attorney General gives advice upon legal points to 
the President, and also, when requested to do so, to 
the heads of departments. He directs the cases of the 
United States, and sometimes appears in them, espe- 
cially in the Supreme Court. He supervises the United 
States Marshals and District Attorneys. His substitute 
and principal assistant is the Solicitor General. There 
are two Assistant Attorneys General; the business of 
the one being connected with the Supreme Court, and 



236 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

of the other with the Court of Claims. There are also, 
as mentioned before, certain legal officers attached to 
the other departments. Additional counsel is frequently 
employed to assist in the argument of important cases. 
To the Attorney General belongs the duty of recom- 
mending persons to the office of Judge, etc., in the 
United States Circuit and District Courts. 

The Department of Agriculture. — The Department 
of Agriculture was organized as a separate department 
in the year 1862. In 1889 its head became a Cabinet 
officer. There is one Assistant Secretary. The duties 
of the Secretary are to promote in every way the agri- 
cultural interests of the country. For this purpose the 
department is separated into thirteen bureaus, under 
the following officers: (i) Entomologist; (2) Chief of 
the Bureau of Animal Industry; (3) Chemist; (4) 
Botanist; (5) Chief of the Section of Vegetable Pa- 
thology; (6) Statistician ; (7) Ornithologist ; (8) Director 
of the Office of Experiment Stations; (9) Microscopist; 
(10) Pomologist; (11) Chief of the Forestry Division; 
(12) Chief of the Seed Division; and (13) Chief of the 
Weather Bureau. The enumeration of these titles in- 
dicates the general nature of the work of the depart- 
ment. The Statistician publishes monthly and annual 
reports concerning statistics of the condition, prospects, 
and harvests of the principal crops, the wages of farm 
labor, etc. The Chemist analyzes fertilizers, soils, 
etc. By the act of March 2, 1887, ^15,000 per annum 
was appropriated by Congress to each of the states 
and territories which have established an agricultural 
college, or an agricultural college department, for 



THE CABINET AND EXECUITVE DEPARTMENTS 237 

the establishment of experiment stations. The De- 
partment of Agriculture has general supervision of 
these. 

Congress, by an act passed in 1890, created a Weather 
Bureau under the Agricultural Department and trans- 
ferred to it the business of weather prognostications 
which had before been under the Chief Signal officer in 
the War Department. This service has stations at the 
military stations in the interior of the continent, at life- 
saving stations, and at other points in the states and 
territories. Meteorological observations are taken at 
each station, and the information is forwarded to the 
central office at Washington, where weather predictions 
for the succeeding day or days are made. The predic- 
tions are given gratuitously to the public through a 
system of flag signals, by the distribution of weather 
maps, and by publication in the daily papers. 

The Department publishes the result of the scientific 
investigations carried on by its officers in "Annual 
Reports" of the Secretary and Chiefs of Divisions; in 
a series of ''Circulars" on special subjects, in regular 
" Bulletins " ; and in a series of studies on " Insect 
Life." These documents are distributed gratuitously. 

The Department of Labor. — The Department of 
Labor was created in 1884, as a bureau under the 
Interior Department. In 1888 it became a separate 
department. Its work is of a purely statistical charac- 
ter. Besides valuable annual reports, the results of 
special investigations at home and in Europe are 
published. A bulletin containing current information 
regarding labor topics is also issued every month. 



238 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

Had all the executive departments been created at 
one time by a constitutional convention, we should be 
justified in expecting a greater symmetry and uni- 
formity in the naming and grouping of chief officials. 
An inspection of the various executive officers shows 
that not a few are under departments other than 
would be expected ; and the naming of officials is often 
misleading as to their importance. Within recent years 
there has appeared a strong tendency to depart yet 
more from a systematic grouping of executive duties 
under departments. Executive functions have been 
given to bodies entirely independent of the depart- 
ments. To complete our survey of the federal execu- 
tive, we must therefore consider the following : (i) The 
Interstate Commerce Commission; (2) The Fish Com- 
mission ; (3) The Civil Service Commission ; (4) The 
Government Printing Office; (5) The National Mu- 
seum, Smithsonian Institution, the Bureau of Ethnol- 
ogy, and (6) The Congressional Library. 

The Interstate Commerce Commission. — With the 
growth of our railroad system have come various 
abuses. Roads have discriminated in favor of one 
shipper over others, and of one localit}^ over others. 
Combinations have been formed to keep up railroad 
passenger and freight charges. Railroad influence has 
been used in political offices through the issuing of free 
passenger tickets, etc. Various other minor abuses have 
centered around these corporations. The states have 
been powerless to provide a remedy, for the roads 
have been mostly engaged in interstate commerce, with 
which the states are forbidden by the Constitution to 



THE C\BINET AND EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS 239 

interfere. To provide a remedy for the principal of 
these abuses, Congress passed the act of February 4, 
1887, regulating certain practices of railroads and creat- 
ing the Interstate Commerce Commission to enforce its 
provisions. The commission is composed of five com- 
missioners appointed by the President. The commis- 
sion sits as a court and adjudicates complaints arising 
between railroads or between citizens and railroads, and 
involving principles covered by the act. A Statistician 
attached to the commission publishes annual statistics 
of railroads, covering the extent, the amount, and value 
of their stock and bonds, expenses of management, 
receipts, etc. The act applies only to the railroads 
lying in more than one state. 

The Fish Commission. — The Fish Commission was 
created by act of Congress in 1870. Its chief is the 
Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries. There is also 
an Assistant Commissioner. This commission stands 
in the same relation to the fishery interest of the coun- 
try as does the Department of Agriculture to agricul- 
tural interests. It investigates the food, habits, and 
enemies of fishes ; experiments concerning the best 
methods of their capture, the best kind of baits, appa- 
ratus, etc. It collects statistics of fish and fisheries of 
the whole country. Probably its most important serv- 
ice, however, is the propagation and distribution of 
food fishes. Under its direction are hatched and liber- 
ated millions of the young of the best food fishes in the 
various inland waters of the United States. Rivers 
suitable for black bass, shad, carp, or other food fishes, 
but not having them in their waters, are supplied. For 



240 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

these purposes the Commission owns and manages vari- 
ous fish hatcheries, fish-distributing vessels, etc. 

The Civil Service Commission. — To correct the waste- 
ful and demoralizing spoils system in vogue ever since 
the first administration of Jackson, Congress passed, 
January i6, 1883, "an act to regulate and improve the 
Civil Service of the United States." Under the pro- 
visons of this act the President appoints three commis- 
sioners, only two of whom may be of the same political 
party, to administer the act. This commission provides 
examinations for testing the fitness of applicants for 
public service. Appointments in those branches of the 
government coming under this act can be made only 
from persons who have passed the civil service exami- 
nation successfully. Adherence to a political party has 
no weight in the selection of employees. 

The Government Printing Office. — In order that there 
may be intelligent legislation and administration, an ex- 
tensive system of reports is required. Each depart- 
ment, bureau, and division makes an annual report. 
The proceedings of Congress are reported verbatim and 
pubHshed. The printing and binding are done by the 
government through the Government Printing Office, 
established for that purpose. The Bureau of Printing 
and Engraving, which is under the Treasury Depart- 
ment, does no part of this work. Its duties are limited 
to the engraving and printing of bank notes, stamps, 
etc. The chief of this office, the Government Printer, 
is appointed by the President. 

The National Museum, Smithsonian Institution, and 
Bureau of Ethnology. — In 1829 James Smithson be- 



THE CABINET AND EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS 24 1 

queathed the whole of his property, something over half 
a million dollars, " to the United States of America, to 
found at Washington, under the name of the Smith- 
sonian Institution, an establishment for the increase 
and diffusion of knowledge among men." This fund, 
held by the United States, now amounts to over $700,000, 
yielding six per cent, per annum. In 1846 Congress de- 
termined to devote this gift of Smithson to the founding 
and support of the museum now known as the Smith- 
sonian Institution. The National Museum was estab- 
lished in 1846, and is supported by annual appropria- 
tions by Congress. In 1879 Congress created a special 
bureau under the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institu- 
tion, to be called the Bureau of Ethnology, to make 
researches in North American Anthropology. This 
work is supported by annual appropriations. The Na- 
tional Museum, Smithsonian Institution, and Bureau of 
Ethnology, though distinct institutions, are under sub- 
stantially the same management. 

The Library of Congress. — The Librarian of Congress 
is an independent officer and reports directly to Con- 
gress. He has complete control of the Congressional 
Library. There is a law requiring that two copies of 
every book, pamphlet, newspaper, photograph, etc., 
copyrighted in the United States, shall be sent to the 
Congressional Library. It thus receives large and 
valuable additions yearly. The library now numbers 
over half a million volumes. A new home for these 
books, near the Capitol, has just been completed, 
whither they will soon be moved. This is the finest 
library building in the world. > -/ 1 

WIL. AM. CIT. — 16 



CHAPTER IX 

THE FEDERAL JUDICIARY 

Necessity for a Federal Judiciary. — In forming the 
Constitution the framers of our government were con- 
trolled, as we know, by the principle that the powers 
which belong to all governments can be most safely 
and satisfactorily exercised by dividing them according 
to their nature among three separate branches, the exec- 
utive, the legislative, and the judicial. Under the Arti- 
cles of Confederation this maxim of government had 
been disregarded. The old Continental Congress had 
been given under that plan not only legislative powers, 
but also those executive and judicial powers which the 
states had }/ielded to the central government. The lack 
of a federal judiciary was, as Justice Story says, '' one of 
the vital defects of the old confederation." Hamilton, 
the expounder of the Constitution, said : " The laws 
were a dead letter without courts to enforce and apply 
them." 

A national system of courts was necessary in order 
that there might be some power : 

First, To give to national laws an interpretation that 
would be uniform throughout the land. If there were 
to be as many independent courts as there were states, 

242 



THE FEDERAL JUDICIARY 243 

each giving federal decisions on causes arising under 
the same national laws, nothing but confusion and 
contradiction could arise. 

Second, To settle disputes between the states and 
citizens of different states. 

TJiirdy To construe and interpret the Constitution 
itself, and decide all disputes arising under it. As the 
Constitution is the supreme law of the land, no legis- 
lative act of Congress contrary to it can be valid. 
Hence, the necessity of some power which should have 
authority to determine the constitutionality of an act 
when brought into question. 

Fourth, There was the necessity for some means to 
determine the constitutionality of any act of a state 
legislature, and thus to enforce upon the states the 
restrictions laid upon them. The manifest necessity of 
such a power may be best stated by using Hamilton's 
own words : 

"What would avail restrictions on the authority of 
the state legislatures without some constitutional mode 
of enforcing the observance of them } The states, by 
the plan of the Constitution, are prohibited from doing 
a variety of things, some of which are incompatible with 
the interests of the Union, others with the principles of 
good government. The imposition of duties on im- 
ported articles, and the emission of paper money, are 
specimens of this kind. No man of sense will believe 
that such prohibition would be scrupulously regarded 
without some effectual power in the government to 
restrain or correct infractions of them. This power 
must be either a direct negative on the state laws, or 



244 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

an authority in the federal courts to annul such as 
might be in manifest contravention of the articles of 
Union." "These courts are to be the bulwarks of a 
limited constitution against legislative encroachments." 

The Supreme Court. — The establishmxcnt of the fed- 
eral judiciary is given in a few words in the Constitu- 
tion : " The judicial powers of the United States shall 
be vested in one Supreme Court and in such inferior 
courts as Congress may from time to time ordain and 
establish." 

In pursuance of this clause, Congress passed, in 
1789, what is known as the "Judiciary Act," the first 
section of which reads: "The Supreme Court of the 
United States shall consist of one Chief Justice and 
five Associate Justices." This act also established the 
inferior federal courts, and defined and fixed their fields 
of jurisdiction, i.e., the class of cases which they should 
have power to try. 

The Supreme Court stands at the head of our 
national judiciary. Its field of jurisdiction is the con- 
struction and exposition of the Constitution of the 
United States. Justice Miller of this court, speaking 
of the high character of the duties performed by it, has 
said : "This court, whether we take the character of the 
suitors that are brought before it, or the subjects of 
litigation over which it has final jurisdiction, may be 
considered the highest the world has ever seen. It 
has power to bring states before it, states which some 
of our politicians have been in the habit of considering 
sovereign, not only when they come voluntarily, but by 
federal process they are subjected, in certain cases, to 



THE FEDERAL JUDICIARY 245 

the judgment of the court. Whatever these states may 
have been at the time of the formation of the Con- 
stitution, they now number their inhabitants by the 
millions, and in wealth and civilization are equal to 
many of the independent sovereignties of Europe." 

There have been a number of changes in the structure 
of the Supreme Court since its formation. At present 
there are nine justices instead of six. An annual term 
of the court is held, beginning on the second Monday 
of October and continuing until about May. Six jus- 
tices constitute a quorum. Daily sessions, with the 
exception of Saturdays and Sundays, are held from 
12 to 4 in the Capitol building at Washington. Every 
Saturday morning the justices meet in consultation 
and decide the cases argued during the week. The 
preparation of the written opinions of these cases is 
then assigned to the different justices. The decisions 
are publicly announced on Monday morning of each 
week. 

As will be seen by Section 2 of Article III of the 
Constitution the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court is of 
two kinds : First, that determined by the subject matter 
of the suit, that is, "The judicial power shall extend to 
all cases in law and equity arising under this Constitu- 
tion, the laws of the United States, and treaties made, or 
which shall be made under their authority; to all cases 
affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and con- 
suls;" and ''to all cases of admiralty jurisdiction," 
Secondly, it has a jurisdiction determined by the 
character of the parties involved, irrespective of the 
subject of the suit. That is, '* to controversies to which 



246 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

the United States shall be a party ; to controversies 
between two or more states, between a state and citizens 
of another state ; between citizens of different states, 
between citizens of the same state claiming lands under 
grants of different states, and between a state, or citizens 
thereof, and foreign states, citizens, or subjects." By the 
Eleventh Amendment it was declared that the above 
grant of jurisdiction should not be so construed as to per- 
mit a suit against one of the states by citizens of another 
state, or by citizens or subjects of any foreign state. 

Under the first class of cases it will be seen that 
whenever the federal Constitution, or any act of Con- 
gress is brought into question in a law suit, such suit 
may be brought in a federal court, or, if begun in a 
state court, may be removed to a federal tribunal. 
Under the second class, when the suit is between citi- 
zens of different states, or between different states, no 
matter what the point involved, a federal court has 
jurisdiction on the ground that the chances will be that 
such a court will be more impartial than a court of one 
of the states involved. 

The jurisdiction of the Supreme Court may also be 
divided into two classes in another respect. That is, 
it is either original or appellate. By original is meant 
that the case is begun or originated in that court ; while 
by appellate is meant that the suit is first tried in one 
of the lower courts, and brought to the Supreme Court 
by appeal. 

The Constitution provides that : " In all cases affect- 
ing ambassadors, other public ministers, and those in 
which a state shall be a party, the Supreme Court shall 



THE FEDERAL JUDICIARY 247 

have original jurisdiction." In all other cases the juris- 
diction is appellate. Thus it is that by far the greater 
number of cases tried before this tribunal are appeal 
cases. These cases may come to it either from a lower 
federal court or by appeal from the highest courts of 
the individual states ; for it is provided by law that 
when the validity of a federal right or power or privi- 
lege is involved in the decisions of a higher state court, 
and the decision is adverse to such a right, power, or 
privilege, there shall then be a right of appeal to the 
Supreme Court. 

We have already spoken of the enormous service 
which the Supreme Court has rendered in the develop- 
ment of our Constitution. By giving a broad and liberal 
interpretation to its provisions it has made the federal 
government an efficient agent for all national purposes. 
By vindicating its right to hold unconstitutional acts of 
Congress void and of no effect, it has not only pro- 
tected citizens and states against such unconstitutional 
exercise of power and thus preserved the proper rela- 
tions between the states and the federal government, 
but it has rendered state nullification unnecessary as 
well as illegal. By denying the right of a state to 
interfere in any way with the operation of the central 
government or of any of its agencies, it has kept the 
federal power free from all improper interference. 

In determining whether or not a given law is consti- 
tutional the Supreme Court does not examine as to its 
expediency as a public measure. That is a question 
solely for the legislature to determine. The court is 
guided entirely by the question whether the subject 



248 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

matter of the law is one which, according to the Con- 
stitution, is within the controUing competence of the 
state or federal legislature by which it was enacted. 
Thus, when the Supreme Court declared the federal 
income tax law invalid in 1895 it may perhaps have 
thought that such a measure was a wise and beneficial 
one; but it held that it was not properly apportioned 
according to the Constitution, and hence could not be 
recognized as law. 

In order that the Justices of the Supreme Court may 
be placed beyond all temptation of being influenced by 
party politics, they are appointed by the President for 
life, and have a fixed salary which cannot be reduced 
by Congress so as to apply to any judge on the bench 
at the time the reduction is made. If, however, any 
Justice should be guilty of gross misconduct he may 
be impeached, and, if found guilty, removed from 
office. The judges of all lower federal courts like- 
wise hold office for life, and have fixed salaries. 
This is beyond doubt an extremely wise provision. 
When judges are elected or appointed for a short 
time they are open to the temptation so to frame 
their decisions as to retain popularity with the people, 
and thus render their reelection probable. Such 
influence is necessarily destructive to judicial impar- 
tiality in many cases. Furthermore, those qualities 
which make the best judge are not generally those that 
most appeal to the average voter, and hence there is 
never so good a chance that an elected judge will be as 
able as an appointed one. 

Inferior Federal Courts. — The Constitution provides 



THE FEDERAL JUDICIARY 249 

that there shall be a Supreme Court of the United States, 
but leaves it to Congress to determine from time to time 
what inferior courts shall be created. In accordance 
with this power Congress has established such courts 
and determined the respective jurisdictions to be en- 
joyed by them. 

As at present constituted, there are, besides the Su- 
preme Court, three classes of federal tribunals : District 
Courts, Circuit Courts, and Circuit Courts of Appeals. 

District Courts. — The entire territory of the United 
States is divided into judicial districts. Many single 
states form a judicial district, while some are divided 
into two, and others into three districts. The number 
of districts has varied. In 1898 there were between 
sixty and seventy. To each of these districts is given a 
court and a District Judge. These form the lowest 
grade of federal courts. 

Circuit Courts. — These judicial districts are grouped 
into nine circuits. For example, the fourth circuit in- 
cludes the districts of Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, 
North Carolina, and South Carolina. For each circuit 
there are two Circuit Judges. One of the Justices of the 
Supreme Court is also allotted to each of the circuits, 
who, after the expiration of the Supreme Court term, 
visits his circuit, and tries the more important cases 
which may arise in that circuit. The Circuit Court may 
be held by a Circuit Judge, the Supreme Court Justice, 
or the District Judge of that district in which the court 
is sitting, or by any two of them, or all of them, sitting 
together. The Circuit Courts form the next series of 
the federal courts higher than the District Courts. 



250 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

Circuit Court of Appeals. — Above the Circuit Courts 
there is in each circuit a Circuit Court of Appeals, con- 
sisting of three Judges, namely, two Circuit Judges of 
that circuit, and the Justice of the Supreme Court 
assigned to that circuit. In the absence of one of these, 
a District Judge may take his place. The court holds 
one term annually. 

Jurisdictions. — The relation between these different 
grades of courts is not difficult to explain. In general, 
being all federal courts, they have cognizance only of 
matters over which the judicial power of the United 
States has been extended by the Constitution. 

The District Courts, constituting the lowest grades, 
have no appellate jurisdiction. Their original juris- 
diction is largely over cases connected with revenue 
laws, admiralty matters, suits against consuls, cases 
arising under the postal laws, and criminal prosecutions 
for violations of federal laws. 

The Circuit Courts likewise have only original juris- 
diction. This embraces an extensive control of criminal 
cases which is, for the most part, concurrent with that 
of the District Courts. Secondly, they have a civil 
jurisdiction over all civil suits, involving the construc- 
tion of federal law, where the amount involved is at 
least ^2000. Where, however, the United States 
government is the plaintiff, the money limit does not 
apply. The same jurisdiction is given also to the Cir- 
cuit Courts, whether or not a federal law is involved, 
provided the suit is one between citizens of different 
states, or between citizens of the United States and 
foreign states, or citizens thereof. 



THE FEDERAL JUDICIARY 2$ I 

Unlike the District and Circuit Courts, which have 
only original jurisdiction, the Circuit Courts of Appeals, 
as their name imports, have only appellate jurisdiction. 
This extends to such cases as come to them from the 
District and Circuit Courts. In all cases where the juris- 
diction of the lower courts is questioned, in prize cases, 
conviction of a capital or otherwise infamous crime, or 
where the construction of the federal constitution or a 
treaty is involved, there is the right of an appeal from 
the District and Circuit Courts directly to the Supreme 
Court. In all other cases the appeal lies to the Circuit 
Courts of Appeals. 

The decisions of the Circuit Courts of Appeals are 
final in all cases which have arisen solely on account of 
the citizenship of the parties, and also in all cases aris- 
ing under the federal patent, revenue, criminal, and 
admiralty laws. Also in all other cases where not more 
than ^looo is involved. 

In all cases not included in the above, an appeal may 
be taken to the Supreme Court. Also, in those cases 
in which an appeal is not specifically given, the Supreme 
Court can, of its own motion, if it deems the point of 
law which is involved to be a sufficiently important one, 
order that the case be sent up to it for decision ; or the 
Circuit Court of Appeals can itself submit to the Su- 
preme Court for decision law points involved in a case 
before it, and, in such cases, it will be bound by the 
decision given. 

Much of the jurisdiction of these lower federal courts, 
especially that based upon the citizenship of the parties, 
is concurrent with that of the state courts. But there 



2 52 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

are elaborate provisions which permit a party, if he 
desires, to remove such suits when begun in a state 
court, to a federal court. 

It will be well to repeat that besides these federal 
courts, all of the states have their own systems of courts 
to interpret their own laws ; and that these courts are 
entirely distinct from the United States courts and have 
different judges. 

The District of Columbia being under the exclusive 
control of the federal government, appeals lie from its 
courts to the Supreme Court. For the same reason, 
appeals may be had to the Circuit Courts of Appeals 
and to the Supreme Court from the territorial courts. 

For the purpose of adjusting claims of private per- 
sons against the United States, there has been estab- 
lished at Washington a Court of Claims, consisting of 
five Judges. Appeals lie from it in some cases to the 
Supreme Court, and in others the court merely pre- 
pares a statement of what it finds to be the facts as 
shown by the evidence presented to it, which "finding 
of facts," as it is termed, is sent to Congress for such 
action thereon as may seem fit. 



CHAPTER X 

STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS 

THE plan of this book does not make it necessary 
to explain in detail the organization and methods 
of administration of our state and local governments. 
Indeed, inasmuch as each state has its own peculiar 
problems and governmental characteristics, it is doubt- 
ful whether a satisfactory detailed account can be pre- 
pared which will be adapted for use throughout the 
Union. After that general knowledge has been gained 
which it is the purpose of the present chapter to con- 
vey, the scholar should obtain, by personal inquiry and 
observation and by the consultation of books specially 
devoted to his state, those particular facts, a knowl- 
edge of which is essential to his complete political 
education. 

Functions of the States. — Each state has its separate 
government, with full control over all matters except 
those which have been granted to the United States or 
prohibited to it by the Constitution. These states vary 
in size from that of Texas, the largest, with an area of 
265,780 square miles, to that of Rhode Island, the 
smallest, with 1250 square miles; and in population 
from that of New York, of nearly six millions, to that 
of Nevada, of about forty-six thousand. Texas alone 

253 



254 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

is greater territorially than either France or the Ger- 
man Empire. 

Since the states have control of all matters except 
the few which the federal constitution prohibits and the 
few general powers given to the federal government, 
it will be impossible to enumerate, as was done in the 
case of the United States, all of the different subjects 
over which the state governments might, if they saw 
fit, extend their authority. They can, if they desire, go 
to the extremes of state socialism. In a general way it 
may be said that they regulate nearly all of the private 
relations of their citizens, the laws of husband and wife, 
principal and agent, and of contracts. They provide 
for the detection and punishment of crimes. They 
control and mainly support the militia of the country. 
Railroad, banking, insurance, and other corporations 
are chartered and controlled by them. The construc- 
tion and maintenance of roads, the determination of the 
rights of suffrage, and the control of their own elections 
are among the exclusive powers of state governments. 
Our extensive systems of public schools are likewise 
created and maintained by the states. The state takes 
care of the defective classes, of the insane, paupers, 
etc., and, in general, performs all those ordinary duties 
which naturally pertain to the internal affairs of any 
state. It also creates and controls all the systems of 
local governments, of which we shall presently speak. 
Hence it will be seen that though the ordinary citizen 
is, to be sure, controlled as to national matters by a 
national government, he may possibly never come into 
direct contact, except through the post office, with a 



STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS 255 

federal official or a federal agency. He assists, indeed, 
in defraying the expenses of the federal government, 
but this he does almost unconsciously when he buys 
goods, the prices of which have been somewhat raised 
because of the customs or internal revenue duties which 
have been levied upon them. 

State Governments. — What form of government the 
people of a particular state may create is wholl}^ within 
their own control, except for the one limitation that it 
must be republican in form. If the people of a state 
should attempt to erect any other sort of political con- 
trol, as, for example, a monarchy or absolutism of any 
kind, or if any such government should be imposed 
upon them by an outside force, or by a lawless band 
of rebellious citizens, it would be obligatory upon the 
United States to take steps to secure the overthrow of 
such a government and the establishment of a republi- 
can one in its place. The provision of the Constitution 
is that the federal government shall guarantee to every 
state in this Union a republican form of government, 
and shall protect it against invasion, and, on applica- 
tion of the legislature or of the executive (when the 
legislature cannot be convened), against domestic vio- 
lence. The duty on the part of the United States of 
guaranteeing a republican form of government carries 
with it the right of the federal power to decide, when 
there is a contest, which of two opposing governments 
in a particular state shall be recognized as the legal 
one. The duty of protecting a state against foreign 
invasion or domestic violence is to provide for those 
emergencies which a state may not be able to meet 



256 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

by its own police or militia. It will be seen that in 
such cases the United States is to assist only when its 
aid is asked by the state governor or legislature. 

In general the governments of the states closely re- 
semble in their organization that of the federal govern- 
ment. All the states have : 

1. A Constitution. 

2. A legislature of two Houses. 

3. An executive, termed a Governor. Other execu- 
tive officials are the Lieutenant Governor (in almost 
all cases), a Secretary of State, Treasurer, etc. 

4. A system of local government in counties, towns, 
cities, etc. 

5. A body of state laws enacted by the respective 
state legislatures. 

6. A judicial system of courts from which no appeal 
can be had to the United States courts except in those 
cases which have been mentioned in the preceding 
chapter. 

7. A system of local taxation. 

All states have public debts, which they may, and 
sometimes do, repudiate. They can be sued only by 
other states. 

State Constitutions. — As the federal Constitution is 
the supreme law of the United States, so the state con- 
stitution is the highest law of the state. The constitu- 
tions of the original thirteen states were formed after 
the model of the charters enjoyed by the New England 
colonies. Rhode Island and Connecticut adopted their 
charters as constitutions without any change, except, of 
course, the annulment of obedience to the English 



STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS 257 

King. All subsequent constitutions have been closely 
modeled after the first thirteen. The modes of amend- 
ment of constitutions differ in different states, but in 
all, amendment is much easier of accomplishment than 
in the case of the federal Constitution. This is shown 
by the fact that since 1776 there have been adopted 
by the states over one hundred complete constitutions, 
and over two hundred partial amendments ; while since 
the passage of the first ten amendments in 1789, there 
have been but five additional amendments to the federal 
Constitution. Some states provide that the constitu- 
tion shall be submitted to the people for amendment at 
the end of certain intervals of time. In the larger 
number of cases a majority of the popular vote is re- 
quired for ratification of a constitutional amendment. 
State constitutions show a tendency to become longer, 
and to regulate a constantly increasing number of sub- 
jects. 

A normal constitution has the following provisions : 

1. A definition of the state boundaries. 

2. A bill of rights (guaranteeing private rights, such 
as freedom of the press and speech, trial by jury in 
criminal cases, right to assemble and petition, etc.). 

3. A frame of government, an enumeration of officers 
and powers of legislature, executive, courts of justice, etc. 

4. Miscellaneous provisions, relating to the adminis- 
tration of schools, militia, taxation, debts, local govern- 
ment, corporations, amendments, etc. 

State Legislatures. — The legislature in all the states 
consists of two Houses, of which the upper and smaller 
branch is called the Senate, and the lower and more 

WIL. AM. CIT. — 17 



258 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

numerous branch usually the House of Representatives, 
though in six states it is termed the Assembly, and in 
three the House of Delegates. The members of both 
Houses are elected by popular vote, but Senators are 
usually elected for longer periods, and frequently higher 
qualifications for them are required. States are divided 
into districts for election purposes, and, though members 
of the legislature may offer themselves for election from 
any district, it has become the invariable custom for 
them to be elected only from the districts in which they 
reside. Universal manhood suffrage, that is, the right 
of all male citizens over twenty-one years of age to 
vote, is the rule, though in eight states paupers have 
no vote, and in a few a certain amount of education is 
required (generally enough to read the state constitu- 
tion). The number of members in the state legislatures 
varies greatly. In the Senate, Delaware has the small- 
est number (9), and Illinois the largest (51). In the 
lower House, Delaware has likewise the smallest num- 
ber (21), while New Hampshire has the greatest (321). 

In Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New 
York, New Jersey, and South Carolina, the legislatures 
sit annually ; in all other states, biennially. The length 
of their sessions varies greatly. In some states this is 
at the discretion of the legislature itself; in others, a 
maximum is fixed by the constitution running from forty 
to one hundred and fifty days. 

The Lieutenant Governor of the state is ex officio 
President of the Senate. As in Congress, business is 
conducted by means of committees, which are in both 
Houses elected by ballot. The state legislatures have 



STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS 259 

full charge and control of all local governments within 
the state. The Senate has the power of trying impeach- 
ments of state officials. It also ratifies appointments 
of the Governor. In all states, except four, acts of the 
legislature require the signature of the Governor before 
they become laws. To pass a bill over a veto requires 
in some states a two-thirds vote in both Houses, in 
others a three-fourths vote, and in others a majority 
vote of the total number of members. 

State Executive. — The chief executive of the state is 
the Governor. Other chief officials are the Lieutenant 
Governor, Treasurer, Attorney General, Secretary of 
State, Auditor, and Superintendent of Public Instruc- 
tion. The term of office of the Governor varies in 
different states from one to four years. He has but 
small powers of appointment, most of the state officials 
being elected by the people. In all but four states he 
has a veto on legislation. He has generally the power 
of pardoning. Where there is a Lieutenant Governor, 
he is President of the Senate. 

State Judiciary. — The state judiciary includes three 
sets of courts : 

1. A Supreme Court of Appeals, the highest court, 
from which cases involving federal questions may be 
appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States. 

2. Superior courts of record. 

3. Various local courts, such as county courts, cor- 
poration courts, etc. ' 

Each state recognizes the judgments of other states, 
and gives credit to their public acts and records, and 
delivers up to justice, on demand of the executive, 



260 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

criminals fleeing from other states into her borders. In 
most of the states the Supreme Court Judges are 
elected by the people, though in eight they are ap- 
pointed by the Governor. 

The Attorney General conducts cases in which the 
state is a party, and manages other legal business in 
which the state is interested. 

Local Government. — In the chapter on government 
we learned that the people of the United States owe 
allegiance to two systems of government : the one a 
central national government, the other the state gov- 
ernments. We have now to mention a third system of 
government, namely, local government; for citizens of 
the United States live under three distinct governments : 
first and highest, the United States Government ; second 
the state government, and third, the local government. 
It is about local governments in the United States that 
we shall learn in this section. 

Just as the whole United States is divided into many 
sections, each section being a state or territory, so 
each state is in turn, for convenience in the administra- 
tion of its government, divided into small local areas, 
each division managing those affairs which pertain to 
its own area. Many of these divisions were not formed 
by dividing up the states. The divisions came first, 
or sprang up naturally within the states as soon as the 
colonies were settled. Social governments were the 
first governments formed in the settlement of our west- 
ern territory. Dr. Edward Bemis has described the 
beginnings of government in a new state in the follow- 
ing interesting manner : 



STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS 26 1 

" The genesis of local government in Western ham- 
lets is very simple. First comes the settler who, axe 
in hand, clears the ground for his humble dwelling and 
plants whatever seed he has brought with him. Then 
comes another settler and another, until perhaps a dozen 
families are established near. Two wants are now felt: 
roads, or at least paths from house to house, from ham- 
let to market town, and a schoolhouse for the multiply- 
ing children. There is no strong central authority to 
provide these things, but the settlers meet and vote to 
tax themselves. The services of a supervisor, collector, 
clerk, constable, and justice of the peace are required." 
This is the beginning of the township and county. As 
population increases, other wants arise which only a 
stronger government can supply. A territorial, and 
then a state, government are consequently formed. 

The principal duties of local governments are those 
of education, police, sanitation, charity, the construction 
and maintenance of public roads, the administration of 
justice, the assessment and collection of taxes, etc. 

There are three types of local government in the 
United States : first, the New England type, in which 
the unit of government is the town or township ; seco7id, 
the Southern type, in which the unit is the county; and 
third, the Western system, in which the New England 
and Southern systems are combined. 

Local Government in New England. — Here the unit 
of government is the township, or town, as it is usually 
called. There are few towns exceeding five square 
miles in area, and the population is generally less than 
3000. The New England township is therefore not a 



262 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

thickly settled area. When a town becomes closely 
settled it is incorporated as a city. 

In the New England towns the people govern them- 
selves directly. The town or township form of govern- 
ment is thus that of a pure democracy. 

The supreme governing power of a town is in the 
town meeting, composed of all qualified voters of the 
town. The town meeting is held in the spring of each 
year. After the choice of a moderator, officers are 
elected for the ensuing year, reports of officers for the 
past year are read, and the amount of taxes to be raised 
and expenditures to be made during the year are deter- 
mined. The officers are the Selectmen, three, five, 
seven, or nine in number, who constitute the executive 
officers of the town and administer the ordinances 
passed by the town meeting ; a Town Clerk, who keeps 
a record of the proceedings of the town meeting, and 
a record of births, deaths, marriages, etc. ; a Treasurer, 
Assessors, and Collectors of Taxes, Constables, and 
various other petty officers. Several offices are fre- 
quently given to the same individual. 

Local Government in the South. — Here the town 
(township) does not exist, except in a few instances. 
The unit of government for performing local duties is 
the county, which is much larger than the New Eng- 
land township. The county government is managed 
by a board of County Commissioners. These are elected 
not in open meeting, as are the town officers, but by 
ballot. County government is therefore a representa- 
tive government. The county, wherever found, is a 
judicial district. The chief officer for executing the 



STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS 263 

decrees of the county judiciary is the Sheriff. Other 
county officers are the Treasurer, Assessor, etc. 

Local Government in the West. — Here, as before 
stated, we find the New England and Southern sys- 
tems combined, but combined in such various degrees 
as to render impracticable any attempt to describe them 
more particularly. In consequence of grants of land 
by the federal government to Western states for educa- 
tion, local areas for the administration of these funds 
have been formed. These are called school districts. 
Their boundaries coincide with the boundaries of the 
townships and counties, though a number of school dis- 
tricts may be in one county or township. 

Too much stress cannot be laid upon the necessity of 
cultivating an intelligent and public-spirited interest in 
one's own local government. These are the affairs 
which are not only the best known and whose results 
are the most apparent to every one, but they are impor- 
tant in that it is from them that ultimately spring 
all the evil, as well as the good, features of our whole 
political life. If only the proper persons are in charge 
of local affairs, and a proper sentiment prevails, it 
is almost certain that the state governments will be 
properly officered and administered ; for it is in the 
local centers that the state officers are chosen ; and 
if state and local politics are in a healthful condition, 
it is a very safe guaranty that national politics will 
not be essentially bad. 

City Government — The proportion of people in the 
United States who reside in cities is increasing. In 
1790 there were only 13 cities of 5000 inhabitants or 



264 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

over, and none with 40,000. Now there are over 500 
that have a population exceeding 5000, and 28 with 
a population of over 100,000. In 1790 3 per cent, of 
the total population resided in cities of over 8000 in- 
habitants, while to-day over 25 per cent, live in cities 
of this size or over. 

When any small area becomes thickly settled, and a 
certain population is reached (which varies in different 
states), an appeal may be made to the state legislature 
to grant a charter for incorporating the area as a city. 
This enables the incorporated district to act independ- 
ently of the county or township, to levy municipal taxes, 
and carry out public improvements, and, in fact, to have 
its own local government. 

Rapid as has been the growth of cities, the duties 
required of city governments have increased still faster. 
It would be difficult to give a complete list of these func- 
tions, but the more important of them are the following : 

1. The collection of municipal and state taxes. 

2. The establishment and care of public schools.^ 

3. The administration of justice. 

4. Police supervision. 

5. The maintenance of a fire department. 

6. The care of streets. 

7. Sewerage. 

8. Water supply. 

9. Public parks. 

10. Prisons. 

1 1. Supervision of the liquor traffic. 

12. Regulation of street railways. 

13. Enforcement of building regulations. 



STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS 265 

14. The supervision of charities, hospitals, asylums, 
etc. 

The form of government of all of our large cities is 
much the same. It is a reproduction of the state 
governments. First, there is a Mayor, who is the 
chief executive, and who is elected directly by the 
people of the city. His term of office is sometimes 
only one year, though more often two, three, or four 
years. In almost all cases he has a veto on acts of 
the city legislature, which veto may, however, be over- 
ridden by a two-thirds vote. Other subordinate execu- 
tive officials are the Treasurer, Collector of Taxes, 
Chief of Police, Health Officer, Superintendent of Edu- 
cation, etc. These are in part elected by the people, 
and in part appointed by the Mayor or elected by the 
city legislature. Practice varies in this respect in dif- 
ferent cities. 

City legislatures are of one or two houses. The 
smaller cities usually have one, and the larger cities 
two. The legislature is usually called the City Council, 
the upper branch being termed the Board of Aldermen, 
and the lower and more numerous branch the Common 
Council. The members of the City Council are elected 
by the people, and its acts are usually known as 
ordinances. 

City judges are usually elected by the people. The 
administration of the various duties of municipal gov- 
ernment is generally given to special boards of officers, 
such as the Police Department, Fire Department, etc. 
For election purposes cities are divided into wards, and 
the wards into voting precincts. 



266 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

Municipal Problems. — Our methods of city govern- 
ment have proved the least successful of any of our 
institutions. Corruption and grave abuses exist in al- 
most all of the larger cities, and thus the problems 
connected with city government have become especially 
grave. 

The point constantly to be remembered is, that, aside 
from the punishment and prevention of crime, the 
administrative duties of a city are almost wholly of a 
purely business character, that is, are financial and 
economic in nature. The city differs very little in 
this respect from a vast business corporation. It has 
particular duties to perform, such as have been men- 
tioned, and the only problem is that these duties shall 
be performed in an economical way, and that both 
the city's expenditures and revenues shall be placed 
upon a proper business basis. In any ordinary com- 
mercial company the stockholders have so vital a finan- 
cial interest that in general they make it their business 
to see that the proper directors are chosen, and that, 
when chosen, they perform their duties in a proper 
manner. Exactly the same reasons should induce the 
inhabitants of a city to see that the city corporation, of 
which they are in fact the stockholders, properly per- 
forms its duties. Unfortunately, owing to the large 
number of shareholders in a municipal corporation, 
some are apt to think that their individual influence 
will be so insignificant as not to be worth the effort of 
exerting it, while others, who realize that their inter- 
ference might have some effect in remedying existing 
evils, feel that the small personal gain that might 



STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS 267 

accrue to them as individuals, by the change, would 
not warrant the expense of time necessary for their 
interference. It is unnecessary to state that such 
motives are unworthy of a good citizen. Public spirit 
and a sense of justice should impel every true citizen 
to see that the politics are such as secure a fair dis- 
tribution of the benefits and burdens of government, 
and make the former as great and the latter as light 
as possible. 

It is the absence of public spirit that renders possible 
in many of our larger cities the formation of corrupt 
bands of professional politicians, called "rings," which 
obtain and keep absolute control of the government of 
these cities, and by selling contracts for work at extrava- 
gant rates, by accepting bribes, and by other corrupt 
means, dishonestly enrich themselves and their follow- 
ers at the expense of the people. Corrupt judges are 
placed upon the bench, business men and corporations 
are blackmailed, liquor sellers and keepers of disrepu- 
table houses are released from proper police regula- 
tion in return for certain assessments, and in every 
conceivable way not only are the people subjected to 
excessive taxation, but the morals of cities are debauched 
by a lax and dishonest administration of justice. 

The Initiative and Referendum. — There are some 
who think that not only should the people be permitted 
to elect all public officials, but that all the more impor- 
tant laws should be submitted to their direct vote before 
going into effect, and also that in those cases in which 
it is not specifically provided that their consent shall be 
sought, a certain number of them may demand that any 



268 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

particular measure designated by them shall be drafted 
by the legislature and submitted to their vote. This 
method of enacting law by a direct popular vote is 
termed the Referendum ; while the proposing of meas- 
ures by the popular voice is termed the Initiative. 
Both of these methods are used in the Swiss Republic 
with considerable success. In our own country the 
Referendum is practically employed when amendments 
to state constitutions are submitted to popular vote for 
ratification, and when, in local matters, the people of 
particular places are permitted to indicate their opinion 
by a direct vote in regard to the sale of liquor, termed 
local option. 

The advantages claimed for the Referendum and the 
Initiative are : 

1. That they allow a more perfect expression of the 
popular will than can be obtained indirectly through 
the action of elected representatives. 

2. That they educate the people in political matters 
by enlisting their direct aid in the enactment of the 
measures proposed to them. 

3. That they check bribery, lobbying, and corruption 
in the legislature by enabling the people to reject any 
measure which is not really a good one, and which has 
obtained the approval of the legislature through igno- 
rance or corrupt means. 

The idea of those who advocate the Referendum is 
not that all laws should be passed upon by the people, 
but only certain specified kinds of laws, together with 
all others which may be demanded specially by a cer- 
tain number of qualified voters. 



STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS 269 

The objections to direct legislation of this sort are : 

1. That it is but seldom that the people have suffi- 
ciently accurate knowledge to pass intelligently upon 
legislative proposals. 

2. That even if it be granted that they have this 
knowledge, experience shows that it is almost impos- 
sible, except as to the most striking measures, to arouse 
in the people an interest sufficient to induce them to go 
to the polls. 

3. That if this power should exist it would not only 
cause the people to place less importance upon the 
quality of the representatives which they would send 
to their legislatures, but that the members of the legis- 
lature themselves would become less careful of the 
character of their acts if they should know that such 
acts were to be revised by the people before taking 
effect. 

Most people in this country admit that in the ratifica- 
tion of constitutional amendments direct legislation may 
play a proper part, and also that it may be of value in 
the control of a few purely local matters, such as schools, 
liquor traffic, etc. But in other respects the objections 
to this method of lawmaking seem to be decisive. 
Almost all the matters of federal legislation, such as 
the tariff, regulation of commerce, banking and appro- 
priations, are far too complicated to be acted upon intel- 
ligently by the people at large. Though the same is 
not true to such an extent of most matters which come 
before state legislatures, yet the other objections are of 
greater weight. It is a very general evil in our states 
that the legislatures are not composed of sufficiently 



2/0 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

capable and honest members, and a recognition of this 
fact by the people themselves is shown not only by the 
sense of relief experienced by most of them when ses- 
sions of their legislatures come to a close, but by the 
open distrust of them which is shown in the incorpora- 
tion in the state constitutions of long lists of matters 
over which the legislatures shall have no control. Any 
measure, therefore, which would tend to decrease the 
interest of the people in their lawmaking bodies, or 
to lessen the sense of responsibility of the lawmakers 
themselves for the character of their work, would inevi- 
tably operate to lower still more the character and 
capacity of the legislative members who would be 
elected. If the people could be depended upon rigidly 
to scrutinize and intelligently to vote upon all matters 
submitted to their approval, and to demand the submis- 
sion to them of those measures which the legislature 
itself did not draft and propose to them, then the evil 
of a poor, corrupt, and irresponsible legislature would 
be reduced to a minimum. But, as said above, this they 
cannot be trusted to do, even were they qualified to do 
so, and the result would be that despite their legal 
power to prevent the passage of bad laws and to de- 
mand the enactment of good ones, the laws would not 
be improved. 



CHAPTER XI 

GOVERNMENT REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE 

A GOVERNMENT is an enormous business enter- 
prise, maintained and operated by its citizens, in 
order that certain duties of a general interest and 
benefit may be performed. The magnitude of the 
work transacted necessarily requires the expenditure 
of vast sums of money. The chief source from which 
these sums are derived is taxation. Taxes have been 
defined to be ''the legally determined and legally 
collected contributions of individuals for meeting the 
necessary and general expenses of the state." In the 
large majority of cases this is a good definition, but in 
a few instances it is too narrow. There are some taxes 
that are levied not primarily for the purpose of raising 
an income to meet the expenses of the government, 
but to subserve some other purpose. For instance, the 
maintenance of high duties on many of the articles im- 
ported into the United States from foreign countries 
has for its main purpose the protection of our industries 
from European competition. The large revenues that 
are derived therefrom are incidental. High liquor 
licenses, also, are maintained for the express purpose 
of lessening the consumption of intoxicating beverages. 
The aim of every good government is to distribute its 

271 



2/2 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

burdens of taxation, as well as its benefits, fairly and 
equitably among its citizens. It is the duty of every 
citizen to assist, by an intelligent, honest, and dis- 
interested vote, in the realization of this aim. Equality 
of taxation means equality of sacrifice. Each person 
should contribute toward the support of the govern- 
ment in proportion to his means and the benefits en- 
joyed. It is the duty of every citizen, first to see that 
just and expedient tax laws are passed, then to pay his 
proper proportion, and lastly, to see that his neighbors 
likewise contribute their share. The aim to obtain an 
equitable system of government revenue and expendi- 
ture has been the great motive force which, in the past, 
has urged the people forward in their efforts to secure 
popular forms of government. 

The power to tax is legislative, and according to our 
theory can be exercised only by representatives directly 
elected by the people. A government to be stable and 
efficient must possess adequate powers for the collec- 
tion of its revenue. The miserable condition to which 
the old Confederation was reduced by reason of the 
inadequacy of its powers in this respect has already 
been discussed. Says Fiske : '' Between the old Conti- 
nental Congress and the government under which we 
have lived since 1789, the differences were many; but 
by far the most essential difference was that the new 
government could raise money by taxation, and was 
thus enabled properly to carry on the work of gov- 
erning." 

The sources of government revenue other than taxes 
are various, and differ in different countries. In our 



GOVERNMENT REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE 273 

consideration of the revenues and expenditures of our 
national, state, and Ipcal govejnments we shall have 
occasion to notice the various means by which their 
treasuries are filled. 

Federal Taxes. — The federal government raises its 
revenues, independently of the state governing bodies, 
from different sources, and by a different set of officials. 
Besides taxation, the principal source of its revenue is 
from the sale of public lands. Federal taxes are of two 
kinds : 

1. Customs duties. 

2. Excise or internal revenue duties. 

Of these, much the greater sum is raised from cus- 
toms duties. For the year 1896 the total receipts of the 
United States Treasury were ^409,475,408. Of- this 
$160,021,752 was derived from customs, $146,762,865 
from the internal revenue duties, and $82,499,208 from 
the Post Office. 

Customs or tariff duties are taxes which have to be 
paid on a large number of goods imported into this 
country from foreign countries. These charges are 
collected by government collectors, stationed in all our 
principal seaport cities, who inspect all incoming vessels 
and determine the amounts to be paid upon the cargo, 
according to the rate determined by Congress. This 
system constitutes the so-called protective tariff policy 
of our country. Those commodities not so taxed are 
said to be on the ''free list." How much duty shall 
be levied, and on what articles, are some of the chief 
questions upon which the Republican and Democratic 
parties differ, the former favoring high, and the latter 

WIL. AM. CIT. — 18 



2/4 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

low, rates, that is to say, merely enough to support the 
government, or, as it is termed, ''a tariff for revenue 
only." 

Internal revenue duties are those taxes collected by 
the government from its own citizens upon a small 
class of articles produced in this country. The chief 
items of this class are distilled Hquors, tobacco, and 
oleomargarine. These duties are collected by govern- 
ment collectors stationed in every United States dis- 
trict, who visit the distilleries, collect the taxes, and see 
that the law is enforced. In several Southern states 
attempts to evade the law are very frequent and diffi- 
cult of detection. 

State and Local Taxes. — These are generally, for 
convenience, collected at the same time, and by the 
same officials. The Constitution of the United States 
forbids the states to derive a revenue from duty upon 
goods imported or exported. The states are, therefore, 
for the most part, restricted to a direct tax on property 
for the support of their governments. 

The general method for raising this tax is as follows : 

The legislature of the state, having determined what 
income is needed, apportions this sum among the 
counties, or, in New England, directly among the 
townships, in proportion to the value of the property 
situated within them, or establishes a certain percent- 
age tax on all property, to be collected in the same 
manner. So, similarly, the counties apportion among 
the cities and townships within their areas, in propor- 
tion to the value of their taxable property, not only 
what they have to pay to the state, but also the sums 



GOVERNMENT REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE 2/5 

they have to raise for county purposes. Thus, when the 
township or city authorities assess and collect taxes 
from the individual citizens, they collect at one and the 
same time three distinct taxes — the state tax, the 
county tax, and the city or township tax. Retaining 
the last for local purposes, they hand over the two 
former to the county authorities, who, in turn, retain 
the county tax, handing over to the state what belongs 
to it. Thus trouble and expense are saved in the proc- 
ess of collection, and the citizen sees on one tax paper 
all that he has to pay.^ The chief tax is the prop- 
erty tax, based on a valuation of property, generally 
of all property, real and personal. Of this, by far the 
greater sum is realized from the tax on real property 
(land and buildings). Cities and other local subdivisions 
are more and more raising their revenues from the 
sale, taxation, or operation of such public franchises 
and rights as street car lines, gas and water works. 
Those who fix the value of taxable property and thus 
determine the amount the owners are to pay are called 
Assessors. Those who collect taxes are called Collect- 
ors. The revenue of the states- is seldom large in pro- 
portion to the wealth and number of the inhabitants, 
because the chief burden of administration is borne not 
by the states, but by the federal government, on the 
one hand, and the local subdivisions of the states on 
the other. The total revenue of all the states is barely 
one third that of the federal government. 

Expenditures. — The expenditures of all the govern- 
ing bodies, federal, state, and local, are kept entirely 

1 See Bryce's American Commonwealth. 



2/6 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

distinct. Those of the federal government are for the 
benefit of all the states, while those of the other bodies 
are only for their individual benefit. 

The chief federal expenditures (in addition to the 
postal system already considered and for the most part 
supported by its own revenue) are: (i) for interest on 
the public debt ; (2) for pensions to disabled soldiers ; 
(3) for the support of the civil branch of the govern- 
ment ; (4) for the army and the navy. 

Total expenditures for the year 1896 were ^434,678,- 
654. The chief items were : 

1. Interest on the public debt $35,385,029 

2. Pensions 139,434,001 

3. Army and Navy 78,093,822 

4. Civil Service 87,290,787 

5. Indians . 12,184,921 

6. Post Office 94,218,225 

Money can be expended by the government only 
after it has been appropriated by Congress in its 
annual appropriation bills. The appropriation of sup- 
plies is the most important business that Congress trans- 
acts. Every year the heads of the different departments 
frame estimates of the amounts of money needed to 
support their departments during the following year, 
which estimates they send to the Secretary of the 
Treasury, who, after considering and revising them, 
transmits them to Congress in his '' Annual Letter." 
This letter is considered by the Appropriation Com- 
mittee, whose duty it is to frame bills for the appropria- 
tion of moneys. Though guided by these estimates, 



GOVERNMENT REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE 2// 

appropriations frequently depart widely from them. 
After being reported to the House and passed, money 
bills are sent to the Senate, where they are invariably 
amended by increasing the appropriations, and returned 
to the House. A conference committee is then ap- 
pointed from the House and Senate Committees on 
Appropriations, which, after mutual concessions, agrees 
upon such appropriations as will be passed by both 
Houses. The House then amends the bill as agreed 
upon, passes it, and sends it to the Senate again, which 
in turn passes it, and sends it to the President for his 
signature. All bills for raising money must, by the 
Constitution, originate in the House. Besides the ap- 
propriations for the expenses of government there is 
annually authorized a large expenditure for improve- 
ment of rivers and harbors. Many of the expendi- 
tures authorized by these bills are undoubtedly neces- 
sary, but others, as before remarked, obtain the general 
consent of the members, because each desires to increase 
his popularity at home by getting public money spent in 
his district. 

The expenses of the state governments are not heavy, 
and are devoted to but few objects: 

1. The salaries of officials. 

2. Judicial expenditures. 

3. The state volunteer militia. 

4. Grants to public schools. 

5. Public charities and institutions, as prisons, insane 
asylums, etc. 

6. Interest on state debts. 

7. Internal improvements and public buildings. 



2/8 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

The methods of appropriations are similar to those 
employed by the federal government. 

The expenditures of the local bodies, and particularly 
of the cities, are much larger, in proportion to their 
population, than those of the states, and are increasing 
at a greater rate than the increase of population. The 
objects of expenditure are numerous and very impor- 
tant. The chief ones are : 

1. Interest on local debts. 

2. Maintenance and care of the streets and roads. 

3. Lighting of streets. 

4. Police. 

5. Salaries of officials. 

The following are outlines of the receipts and expend- 
itures of the state of Maryland for 1888, and of the 
city of Baltimore for 1887. These figures are given 
not because they of themselves possess any especial 
importance, but because from them can be obtained 
an idea of the activity of a typical state and city. 

Maryland. — The total receipts were $2,542,130; the 
expenditures $2,016,060. The chief receipts were from : 

General taxes $793^0 1 

Licenses 487.969 

Corporation tax 73^553 

Railroad tax 58?455 

Inheritance tax 57?767 

Income from stocks and bonds owned .... 206,175 

Fees 17^585 

Baltimore. — The gross receipts into the treasury for 
the year ending December 31, 1887, were $8,446,439, 
and were chiefly from the following sources: 



GOVERNMENT REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE 279 

Taxes $4,210,112 

Public schools, tuition fees, etc 6,766 

Market houses, rent of stalls 58,287 

Wharfage and rent of wharves 33?56i 

General licenses 44,609 

Auction duties 7,431 

Dividends on stock in B. & O. R. R. . . . 130,000 

Water rents 745,446 

Passenger railway companies 132,167 

From the state for public schools . . . . , 147,403 

Temporary loan 1,510,000 

Receipts to pay interest on loans 896,704 

Sale of stock 243,285 

The total disbursements were $8,403,930. Of this 
1^4,541,357 was spent on account of expenses of city 
government, the following being the principal items of 
expense : 

Interest on the public debt $915,987 

Expenses of law courts 118,906 

• Expenses of jail, magistrates, etc 1035587 

Public schools (less amount paid by state) . . 594,089 

Expenses of poor 210,739 

Police department .......... 702,882 

Street cleaning department 263,934 

Fire department 214,226 

Street lighting 221,203 

Parks, etc 52,080 

Salaries , , 72,624 

City Council 52,925 

Nearly all of our state and local governments, as well 
as the national government, have large public debts, 
the interest payments upon which constitute one of the 
chief items in their lists of expenditures. The present 



280 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

debt of the federal government is largely the result of the 
enormous expenditures occasioned by the Civil War. 

The principal of the national debt is mainly in the 
form of interest-bearing bonds, held by the national 
banks and by private individuals. These bonds are of 
various denominations, and are promises of the govern- 
ment to pay the sum named on their face at the expira- 
tion of a certain period. 

The debts of most of the states were contracted for 
the purpose of making such internal improvements as 
building roads, canals, subsidizing railroad companies, 
etc. The tendency now seems to be for states to with- 
draw from the money market as borrowers, and for the 
county and city governments to take their place. The 
debts of these latter are very large, and have shown a 
large increase during the last twenty years. They have 
been for the most part incurred in improvement and 
construction of public works, which, in most cases, 
have well repaid the debts incurred. 

Note. — The act of Congress passed in June, 1898, for raising 
additional revenue to meet the expense of the war with Spain, im- 
poses a graduated tax on inheritances, excise duties on beer, ale, 
flour, tea, tobacco, etc., license taxes on bankers, theaters, circuses, 
etc., and a great variety of stamp taxes on checks, bonds, and other 
documents, and on proprietary medicines. 



CHAPTER XII 

MONEY AND BANKING 

Functions of Money. — No man by himself produces 
everything which he uses. Each devotes his time to the 
production of some few things, or the performance of 
some specific service, and exchanges his productions 
or services for things made by other men, or for 
services rendered by them. In rude stages of society 
this is done by a direct exchange of one commodity for 
another, as, for example, so much wheat or corn for a 
sheep or a plow. This is a very imperfect and cumber- 
some method of exchange which can obviously be 
employed only when the exchanges are not at all 
numerous or complicated. For this reason there early 
arose the use of money, or the practice of referring the 
value of all things to some one standard, usually the 
precious metals ; so that, instead of trading, say twenty 
bushels of corn for a plow, where it would be necessary 
in each case to find a man who had a plow which he 
wanted to dispose of, and at the same time wanted 
wheat, the wheat could be sold for money, and this 
money used to buy a plow or anything else which 
might be desired. 

Money is thus a " medium of exchange." 
But money serves also another and almost as impor- 

281 



282 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

tant a function as that of simplifying exchanges. It acts 
as a "standard of value" for deferred payments. Let 
us see what this means. There may be different kinds 
of money — gold, silver, nickel, copper, and paper — ■ 
circulating in the same community. But their value, 
that is, their purchasing power, is all measured by 
the value of some one of them. This one is gold in 
some countries, and silver in others. In our own 
country all of our money, of whatever form or sub- 
stance, represents so many dollars or parts of dollars, and 
the value of each dollar is measured by that amount 
of gold which is contained in each gold dollar. There- 
fore, at present, in our country, the value of all wealth 
is measured by the number of gold dollars it is worth, 
in the same way that an amount of water is measured 
by the number of quarts it contains, or a bin of wheat 
by the number of times it will fill a bushel measure. 

Now when a man borrows a certain number of dol- 
lars from another man, and promises to repay them at 
the end of a year, or of five or ten years, each one of 
these dollars has a certain purchasing power, and, inas- 
much as the price of commodities (that is, their value 
measured in dollars) is mainly determined by the 
amount of effort expended in their production, the 
whole amount borrowed represents a value which re- 
quires a determinate amount of labor of a certain 
degree of skill for its production. If, then, justice is to 
be done, it would seem that at the end of the year or 
the years at which the amount is to be repaid by the 
borrower, the amount of money repaid should represent 
the same amount of labor that it did when borrowed. 



MONEY AND BANKING 2 S3 

In estimating the cost of production of a commodity, it 
need hardly be said that not only the amount of labor 
actually expended in its manufacture, but the amount of 
capital necessarily involved, should be considered. For 
it is but just that a certain compensation be paid for 
the use of this capital in the same way that interest is 
paid for the use of borrowed money. Just as one pays 
a certain amount for the use of a farm or of a horse, 
so it is but fair that he should pay it for money, which 
represents, and may be immediately used for the pur- 
chase of a farm or a horse or any other commodity. 
This rent of money is termed interest. 

When money is borrowed, the same number of dol- 
lars must be returned as were originally received. If 
the transaction is to be rendered perfectly fair, the 
value of each dollar should vary, from time to time, as 
little as possible. Therefore in determining the metal in 
which the value of the dollar is to be measured, we 
should seek to find through experience the one which 
fluctuates the least in value from year to year. Among 
most of the civilized nations this metal is believed to be 
gold, and a certain amount of it is therefore made the 
unit of value, and thus serves as the standard of value 
for deferred payments. 

Although the value of gold may be as stable as that of 
any other commodity which could be selected, yet it is 
by no means perfectly stable, and has, in fact, varied 
not a little within modern times. The purchasing 
power of money is influenced not only by the difficulty 
with which the metal, which is the measure of value, is 
produced, but far more seriously by the amount of it in 



284 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

circulation as compared with the amount of work which 
it has to do ; that is, with the number and size of the 
exchanges to be made through its medium. The more 
money there is in circulation, the less will be the 
value of each dollar, and, therefore, the higher will be 
the prices ; for if each dollar is worth less, it will take 
a larger number of them to represent a given value. 
When money is plentiful, therefore, prices are high ; 
and when it is scarce, prices are low. If, then, between 
the time of borrowing a certain sum and repaying it, 
prices have fallen, the amount repaid will represent a 
greater amount of goods than it did when borrowed. 
If prices have risen, it will represent a less amount. In 
the former case the creditor would seem to gain the 
advantage by receiving a greater value than he originally 
parted with ; while in the latter case the debtor would 
reap the advantage. 

Within recent years prices in general have undoubt- 
edly fallen. For this reason it has been thought by 
many that the increase in the supply of money has not 
kept pace with the growth of the country's population 
and business, and that thus money has become relatively 
less plentiful as compared with the work to be done by 
it. As a consequence, it is held that those who con- 
tracted debts in former years, when each dollar was less 
valuable, are now oppressed by having their debts pro- 
portionately increased by the increase in the value of 
the dollars in which such debts are measured. This 
has been the ground upon which there has been based 
a widespread demand that our stock of money should 
be increased by the free coinage of silver ; that is, that 



MONEY AND BANKING 285 

a law should be passed permitting all owners of silver 
to bring it to the United States mints and have it coined 
into dollars, each of which should contain in weight six- 
teen times as much silver as there is gold in the gold 
dollar. 

Those who advocate this measure are not deterred by 
the fact that the present market value of silver, as 
measured in gold, is not more than half as much as this. 
They say that if the United States Government should 
declare that sixteen ounces of silver must everywhere 
be received as equivalent in value to one ounce of gold 
in the payment of all debts, public and private, this 
declaration would be sufficient to make it so. This in- 
volves the attaching of the legal-tender quality to all 
silver dollars so coined. A piece of money is said to be 
legal tender when there is a law to the effect that it 
shall be receivable by all persons at its face value in 
full payment of all debts. If, then, say the advocates of 
free silver, this quality be attached by law to silver dol- 
lars, they will necessarily have the same value as gold 
dollars, and the currency, being increased by the coinage 
of the large amount of silver now in existence, prices 
will be proportionately raised, and the debtor class 
correspondingly relieved from the burdens which the 
alleged appreciation of gold has laid upon them. 

On the other hand, those who oppose this policy 
deny in the first place the alleged justice upon which it 
is founded, for they say that the fall in prices of goods 
has been almost wholly, if not entirely, due to improved 
methods of production, and that, in fact, whatever 
amount of goods a dollar may now represent as com- 



286 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

pared with its purchasing power ten or twenty years ago, 
that amount of goods may now be produced at a less 
expenditure of labor and investment of capital than 
then. In effect, they say, that though the debtor may 
have to return to the creditor a larger amount of goods, 
he does not have to return to him that which represents 
so large an amount of work. 

In the second place, they believe that the free coin- 
age of silver would be disastrous financially and com- 
mercially ; that it would lead to a sudden and great 
increase in money, which would so change prices as to 
upset all business calculations and produce a financial 
crisis ; that all foreign countries would send to us their 
silver and take away in exchange our gold, and that 
thus with no gold in circulation we should be placed 
upon a silver basis, in which condition we should be at 
a disadvantage in our commercial dealings with other 
leading nations which are upon a gold basis. 

The whole question as to the coinage of silver is an 
exceedingly complicated one, the considerations here 
referred to being only the main issues involved. In the 
presidential election of 1896 this was the fundamental 
point at issue, and was decided adversely to the free 
silver party. 

Paper Money. — Paper money, as its name imports, 
is a currency consisting of paper slips. These are, in 
fact, promissory notes of the parties by whom issued, 
and their value depends upon the security upon which 
they are based. When issued by a state, their value 
thus depends upon our faith in the honesty, stability, 
and financial capacity of the government of that state. 



MONEY AND BANKING 28/ 

In some cases every dollar represented by the paper 
money issued by a government is secured by an equal 
amount of gold or silver deposited in the treasury to 
be paid upon demand to any party presenting such 
paper money for redemption. In such cases the 
paper is exactly as good as the coin, and the govern- 
ment issues it only because of the greater convenience 
with which large sums may be handled in paper than 
in coin. 

Very frequently, however, a government, when in 
urgent need of money, issues paper money which it 
stamps with a legal-tender quality, for the redemption 
of which it does not deposit an equivalent amount of 
gold or silver. The issuance of such a currency is, in 
effect, a forced loan from the people, inasmuch as the 
law compels them to receive it as a legal tender, and it 
is not redeemable on demand in coin. For this reason 
it is also termed "fiat money," since it rests upon the 
mere fiat or will of the state, and not upon any sub- 
stantial value. Money of this character was issued by 
the United States Government during the Civil War, and 
some of it is still in circulation. 

In the following description of the different kinds of 
money in the United States, it will be seen that we have 
in circulation several forms of paper money. 

Different Forms of United States Money. — In the 
United States, as in most nations, the creation of money 
has always been under the control of the government, 
and the government alone, so that one certain fixed 
system should prevail. For the sake of convenience 
money is made of various kinds and denominations, and 



288 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

United States money may conveniently be regarded 
under the five following divisions : 

1 . Gold Coin, Gold Bidlion, and Gold Certificates. — 
There are six gold coins: (i) the eagle, $io piece; (2) 
the double eagle, ^20 piece; (3) the half eagle, $5 ; (4) 
the quarter eagle, ^2.50; (5) the ^3 piece; and (6) the 
$ I piece. The last three are but little used, and are no 
longer coined. The gold bullion, or gold in bars and 
bricks uncoined, is for all practicable purposes as good 
as the coin, and in foreign trade is much used, it being 
more convenient to handle. Besides the gold coin and 
bullion, there are in circulation gold certificates. These 
are of paper, the same in general appearance as the 
ordinary bank note, and certify that an equivalent 
amount of gold has been deposited with the Treas- 
urer of the United States, and that the holder of the 
certificate has the right to obtain the gold for it at any 
time. This does not increase the amount of money in 
circulation, as for every bill so issued just so much coin 
is withdrawn and stowed away in the Treasury. The 
certificates are used simply for convenience, and in 
order to avoid the wear of the coin if in constant use. 
These certificates are of the denomination of ^20. 

2. Silver Dollars and Silver Certificates. — There is 
no silver bullion circulating as money, for a silver dollar 
does not contain a dollar's worth of silver, as the gold 
dollar does of gold, and the silver bullion is thus of 
different value (less value), according to weight, than 
the silver dollar. The silver certificates are similar to 
the gold certificates, and certify that an equivalent amount 
of silver coin has been deposited in the Treasury. 



MONEY AND BANKING 289 

3. Subsidiary and Minor Coins. — All coins of a lower 
denomination than ^i belong to one or the other of these 
two classes. There are three subsidiary coins: The fifty- 
cent, the twenty-five-cent, and the ten-cent pieces. The 
three-cent piece is no longer coined. All other coins 
are minor coins. The peculiarity of the subsidiary and 
minor coins is that they are, as compared with the 
standard coins (gold and silver dollars), of a much 
greater face value than the value of the metal they 
contain. The subsidiary coins are legal tender to the 
amount of ^10, the minor coins to the extent of twenty- 
five cents. Gold coin and the silver dollars are legal 
tender to any amount. 

4. Treasury Notes. — Under this head is included 
that form of money ordinarily known as ''greenbacks," 
from the color of the paper used. These notes were 
originally issued during the Civil War, and are promis- 
sory notes on the part of the United States Government, 
and as such constitute a portion of the debt of the gov- 
ernment. At first they were not redeemable, i.e., ex- 
changeable for coin at the Treasury, but since 1879 
they are, and therefore just as valuable now as any 
other form of money, though formerly worth much 
less than their face value. One hundred million dollars 
in gold is kept on deposit in the Treasury for their re- 
demption. The amount outstanding (^346,000,000) is 
kept constant, because as fast as redeemed in coin they 
are reissued. 

By the Silver Bill of July 4, 1890, provision was made 
for a new kind of treasury notes. By this act the 
Secretary of the Treasury was directed to purchase 

WIL. AM. CIT. — 19 



290 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

silver bullion to the amount of 4,500,000 ounces each 
month, and to issue in payment for such purchases 
treasury notes. These notes so issued were to be re- 
deemable on demand in coin and to be a legal tender 
in payment of all debts, public and private, except 
where otherwise expressly stipulated. This law was 
repealed in 1893. The war revenue act of Congress 
passed June, 1898, provided for the coinage of about 
$40,000,000 of silver at the rate of $1,500,000 monthly, 
from certain bullion now in the Treasury. Except for 
the above, no silver dollars are now being coined, and 
no silver buUion is being purchased at the Treasury. 

5. Notes of National Banks. — This is the one form 
of money that is not issued directly by the federal gov- 
ernment, but through the agency of what is called our 
" National Banking System," which may be thus de- 
scribed. Under an act of Congress, banks may be 
organized in any place, which, upon conforming to cer- 
tain regulations as to methods of operation and federal 
rights of supervision and examination of their books, 
are permitted to issue circulating notes. The minimum 
capital stock required varies from $50,000 to $200,000, 
according to the population of the city where the 
bank is located. One third of the capital must be 
invested in government bonds and deposited in the 
United States Treasury. The bank may then issue 
notes to the extent of ninety per cent, of such deposit. 
Such notes are thus amply secured by the deposits 
with the government. The government guarantees 
their payment, and they therefore circulate as well 
as the certificates issued directly by the government. 



MONEY AND BANKING 29 1 

Thus a great deal of the paper money in circulation 
is issued by the national banks ; this must, on demand, 
be redeemed with coin and, in case of failure of the 
banks, is paid by the government which reimburses 
itself from the deposits. A bank note differs from 
a treasury note in two particulars. The treasury note 
is a promise of the government, and is a legal tender 
in payment of all private debts ; the bank note is the 
promise of a private company, and is not legal tender. 
A bank note is said to be paid when the bank gives a 
greenback or coin for it. A greenback is said to be 
paid or redeemed when the government gives gold for it. 
The following figures taken from the report of the 
Secretary of the Treasury for 1897 show the amounts 
of the various sorts of money just described, which on 
July I, 1897, were in the Treasury, in the banks, and in 
the hands of the people : 

Gold coin and gold bullion $696,239,016 

Silver coin and silver bullion 556,590,184 

U. S. Treasury notes 461,548,296 

National bank notes 230,668,034 

Subsidiary coins 75,818,369 

It will be noticed that gold and silver certificates are 
not included, for, as explained, they merely represent 
an equal amount of coin or bullion on deposit. 

The total amount of money is thus approximately 
;^2,02 1,000,000, which, divided by the total population 
(72,937,000), gives about twenty-seven dollars per capita. 
It should be borne in mind in connection with these 
figures that other devices, such as checks, drafts, bills 
of exchange, and other forms of credit, are used side by 



292 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

side with money in carrying on trade and commerce. 
Of these we shall speak presently. 

Banking. — Banks perform several very important 
functions in our commercial and financial life, of which 
the one which probably first occurs to most of us — the 
provision of a place for the safe deposit of money — is 
the least important. Besides this function they perform 
the important office of providing the means through 
which the business men of the country are enabled to 
obtain the use of money in proportion to their credit. 
In the conduct of all commercial affairs of any con- 
siderable magnitude frequent occasions arise for the 
temporary use of sums of ready money greater than 
those which business men ordinarily keep on hand. 
Business men do not care to keep on hand any greater 
amount of cash than is positively necessary, for while 
their wealth is in that form it is unproductive. When, 
therefore, occasional demands for an exceptional amount 
of cash occur, there is needed some source whence it can 
be obtained by a pledge of credit. The banks furnish 
such a source. 

The money loaned by the bank is derived from its 
invested capital, and the sums intrusted to its keeping 
by its depositors. When a bank lends upon insufficient 
security, and is unable to collect its loans, and these 
sums amount to any considerable figure, the bank finds 
itself unable to repay to its depositors the amounts of 
their deposits, and is then said to fail or to close its doors. 

When a suspicion becomes current that a bank is in 
an unsound condition, all of its depositors are naturally 
eager to withdraw their deposits as soon as possible. 



MONEY AND BANKING 293 

This constitutes what is known as a run on the bank, 
which often forces it to close its doors, because it has 
not enough ready money on hand, although it may 
have plenty of assets and could easily pay all its liabili- 
ties if given sufficient time to realize upon them. In 
the ordinary course of events a bank does not anticipate 
on any one day withdrawal of more than a certain 
percentage of its deposits. It therefore does not keep 
on hand more cash than will be necessary to meet this 
ordinary demand. 

Besides furnishing a place of safe deposit and a 
medium through which merchants and manufacturers 
may obtain temporary loans, banks perform the ex- 
tremely useful service of providing a convenient method 
through which payments may be made. All persons 
doing any considerable amount of buying and selling 
keep deposits at some bank, and in making payments 
are thus able, instead of handing over the money, simply 
to give checks, which are orders to the banks at which 
they have their money deposited to pay the specified 
amounts to the specified persons, and charge to the 
accounts of the drawers of the checks. The person to 
whom a check is given may take it to the bank upon 
which it is drawn and obtain the money called for by it, 
or, what is more usual, if he has an account of his own 
at another bank, he will deposit it there to his own 
credit, and his bank will collect it from the bank upon 
which it is drawn. In large cities, however, these 
checks are not sent directly to the banks upon which 
they are drawn, but to an institution termed the clear- 
ing house. Here each bank daily brings the checks of 



294 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

Other banks which it has honored the previous day. 
These are given to the clearing house officials, and they, 
by a simple process of addition and subtraction, deter- 
mine in each case whether a bank has thus paid out or 
given credit for an aggregate sum drawn upon the 
other banks of a greater or less amount than they on 
their part have altogether honored of its checks. If 
greater, a clearing house check for the difference is 
given to the bank ; if less, the bank gives its check for 
the balance to the clearing house. In this way ac- 
counts amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars in 
some cases are settled in an hour's time. 

Thus a very large proportion of the business of the 
country — nine tenths of the whole in some of the large 
cities — is carried on by means of these checks or similar 
instruments of credit. In this way less work is left for 
money to perform, and in estimating, therefore, the 
amount of money needed in a given community, not only 
its population and business have to be considered, but 
the extent to which instruments of credit are used. 

Since the ideal form of money is that which will 
increase in amount in exact proportion to the increase 
of work to be performed by it, and decrease with the 
decrease of such work, it is thought by very many that 
while the state should fix the standard of value, that is, 
the amount of gold or silver to be contained in the dol- 
lar, the banks should have the power of issuing money, 
since the demand for money made by merchants upon 
the banks will depend in large measure upon the extent 
of their business operations, and thus the amount of 
money issued will adjust itself automatically to the need 



MONEY AND BANKING 295 

and demand for it. Prices will thus tend to remain 
fixed, except in so far as modified by cheapened modes 
of production. At the same time, if such a system of 
bank currency were ever adopted, the most stringent 
conditions would have to be established for its regula- 
tion. It would be necessary to forbid the banks to issue 
their paper money except when ample securities were 
deposited, such as bonds, etc., to make it practically 
certain that there would be no danger of the money 
failing of redemption when its face value in coin were 
demanded. At one time our state banks were per- 
mitted to issue paper money without being obliged to 
deposit such securities, with a result that many of them 
issued amounts of notes far beyond what they were able 
to redeem, and thus entailed losses upon their holders, 
and in general threw financial matters into confusion. 
If these banks are ever again allowed to issue paper 
money, regulations must be made to prevent a repetition 
of this evil. 

The part played by credit in our commercial and 
industrial life explains why it is that at times countries 
are subject to extraordinarily severe financial disturb- 
ances, termed crises or panics. 

For some reason, as the failure of some great busi- 
ness concern, the outbreak of a war, a sudden change 
in the financial policy of a government, undue specula- 
tion, an unexpected increase or decrease in the supply 
of money, or any one or more of an almost countless 
number of other causes, there may begin to spread 
a suspicion of financial troubles to come, or a doubt 
as to the financial standing of some of the leading busi- 



296 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

ness concerns of the country. Immediately every one 
attempts to strengthen his position, just as the sailors of 
a ship take in sail at the prospect of a storm. Those 
who have money owing to them begin to press their 
debtors for its payment ; while those who would ordi- 
narily lend, feel unwilling to do so. Thus the suspicion 
destroys in two ways the ability of credit to perform its 
ordinary work in the conduct of business. It renders 
lenders unwilling to lend, and those who have already 
lent eager to collect. Debtors, being pushed for pay- 
ment, first of all exhaust their bank deposits and then 
attempt to borrow from the banks. But these institu- 
tions, with their deposits lessened, are not only less able 
to lend, but, owing to the general feeling of distrust, 
unwilling to part with that money which they have. 
Thus merchants, one after another, though possessing, 
it may be, large amounts of property, are unable to pay 
the debts which they have contracted and are obliged to 
assign. Their failure of course affects their creditors 
in turn, and thus the trouble spreads. The root and 
cause of the whole panic has been distrust, which has 
rendered credit unable to perform its wonted functions, 
and business does not regain its ordinary condition 
until confidence is restored — a process usually of slow 
o:rowth. 



CHAPTER XIII 

PARTY GOVERNMENT AND MACHINERY 

Why Parties are Formed. — In any popular govern- 
ment political parties are a necessity. Upon many of 
the great questions of public policy which arise it is 
impossible that all persons should think alike. Not 
only are their interests widely different, but their educa- 
tion and their dispositions are not the same. Certain 
individuals by their natures and habits of mind are 
opposed to change or to radical or extreme action of 
any sort. They are, in short, naturally conservative. 
Others are equally inclined to favor new experiments 
and to rejoice in change, and to be optimistic of the 
results to be obtained from any new condition of affairs. 
Again, some believe in using the power of government 
to its fullest extent, in the exercise of what we have 
termed its non-essential functions ; while others are 
opposed on principle to any extension of the state's 
activities beyond what is absolutely necessary for the 
preservation of national independence and domestic 
order. When to these influences we add that of self- 
interest, it becomes evident that where the right of par- 
ticipating in public affairs is widely extended, opposing 
political parties will be formed. Self-interest ought not, 
of course, to cause a man to advocate a public policy 

297 



298 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

contrary to that which his judgment tells him will be 
best for the common welfare ; but as men are imper- 
fect, this influence is, as a matter of fact, a most 
powerful one. It is this that causes political parties so 
often to be sectional in character, that explains why the 
chief strength of the protectionist party lies in one part 
of our country and of the free trade party in another 
part; why the free silver party is all-powerful in the 
West and South, while its opponents are overwhelm- 
ingly strong in the Middle and Eastern states ? 

Benefits of Parties. — The benefits to be derived from 
the existence of political parties are the following : 

In the first place, their existence tends to keep the 
policies and administration of the government under a 
constant surveillance. On the one hand, the party out 
of power is naturally anxious to discover and make 
public any errors or instances of corruption which it 
can discover in the operations of its opponents. On 
the other hand, the party in power is equally eager to 
maintain the confidence which the people have in it by 
avoiding errors and evidences of corruption. This is, 
and should be, the normal working of party govern- 
ment — one in which there is a healthy emulation 
between parties to merit and secure the confidence 
and support of the public by the wisdom of its proposal 
and the probity and honesty of its administration. And 
this is what its working always would be, were all citi- 
zens, or a majority of them, alert in their own interests, 
and intelligent to discover whether a party's promises 
are wise and honestly fulfilled. In the absence, how- 
ever, of this intelligent and widespread interest, the 



PARTY GOVERNMENT AND MACHINERY 299 

contest between parties degenerates into a mere 
struggle for the possession of public offices for the 
sake of the salaries which they yield or the oppor- 
tunities which they give for exploiting the public 
treasury. Thus arises a class of so-called professional 
politicians, who make the direction and control of polit- 
ical matters a business, and who are actuated solely by 
selfish interests. 

Certain individuals, by means of their wealth or 
their organizing abilities, obtain control of party or- 
ganizations, and by bribery, by promises of office, by 
threats of blackmail, etc., obtain a following sufficient 
to outvote the small proportion of citizens who take 
sufficient interest actively to oppose them. 

Functions of Parties. — The three functions which 
political parties perform, whether for good or for bad, 
are : the formulation or crystallization of public opin- 
ion, and its reduction to definite statement in party 
platforms ; the selection of candidates for elective posi- 
tions ; and the management of political campaigns. 

In the formation and crystallization of public opinion 
numerous means are used, such as publication of argu- 
ments in the newspapers, the distribution of political 
pamphlets, the formation of political clubs, public 
speaking and the like. The final statement of a 
party's principles is given in its platform as adopted in 
convention, a fact to which we shall presently refer. 

The selection and nomination of persons for election 
to public offices is made through a series of meetings 
and organizations which we shall describe under the 
title of " Party Machinery." 



300 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

The third function of political parties, that of organ- 
izing and conducting political campaigns, consists in 
arousing enthusiasm at election time, and seeing that 
all members go to the polls. In order to arouse enthu- 
siasm, political literature is distributed broadcast, stump 
speeches are given in every place of importance, and 
bonfires, torchlight processions, pole-raisings, and other 
celebrations are provided. Previous to the election, 
every member of the party is seen and induced, if possi- 
ble, to cast his vote in the way desired, and to influence 
others to do the same. Upon the day of election care 
is taken that sufficient ballots are provided and distrib- 
uted at convenient points, that intimidation or bribery by 
the other party is prevented, and that those unable to 
walk to the polls are provided with conveyance thither. 

Party Machinery. — The success of a political party 
at the polls is largely dependent upon its being able to 
achieve the following results : First, to secure a sub- 
stantial agreement between its members as to the main 
line of public policies to be advocated ; second, to 
obtain the concentration of its votes upon some one 
candidate for each office to be filled ; tJiird, to provide 
agencies through which systematic efforts can be made 
to retain the allegiance of its members, and to obtain 
new recruits either from the opposing party or from 
among those young men who are just reaching the 
voting age ; foin^th, to afford some instrumentality 
through which political campaigns may be conducted. 

For the performance of the above-mentioned func- 
tions, organization is necessary ; and thus it is that 
throughout the country, in all the states, counties, cities, 



PARTY GOVERNMENT AND MACHINERY 30 1 

and even in the smaller subdivisions of wards and voting: 
precincts, we find parties thoroughly organized under 
acknowledged leaders, and yielding obedience to definite 
systems of rules. This party government or " machine," 
as it is popularly called, rests upon no law or constitu- 
tion, but is a result of the voluntary action of the voters 
themselves. Each party has its own machine, in the 
control of which no one outside of its own ranks can 
participate. Though entirely distinct from each other, 
these party machines are all substantially alike, both as 
to form of organization and methods of control, and 
hence a description of one is a description of them all. 

In general the organs of a poHtical party are of two 
kinds : First, executive committees ; and, second, nomi- 
nating conventions. In every electoral district, whether 
it be a state, a city, a county or a city ward, one such 
committee and convention is provided by each party to 
look after its interests, and to select its nominees. 

The committees are in existence all the year round, 
and their duties consist in the management of cam- 
paigns, in issuing the call for the assembling of the 
nominating conventions, and in performing all matters 
preliminary to the meeting of such conventions. 

The conventions are called only just before an elec- 
tion is to occur, and they go out of existence as soon as 
their work is done. To them fall the duties of prepar- 
ing and adopting the party platforms, and of selecting 
the candidates for whom the members of their party are 
to cast their votes. They also appoint the committee 
which is to manage the party's affairs until the next 
election, and to issue the call for the next convention. 



302 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

In these conventions, also, are selected delegates when 
necessary, to represent the party m the larger conven- 
tions in the larger districts. That is, the county con- 
vention selects delegates to the state convention, and 
the state convention selects delegates to the National 
Convention. 

Owing to the fact that we live under a federal govern- 
ment, we have state and local, as well as national politi- 
cal parties, and the organization of each of these is 
more or less distinct. 

Town and Township Party Organization. — In those 
parts of the country where township government pre- 
vails, candidates for local offices are usually nominated 
in annual town meetings, though, where there is 
any contest for any particular office or offices, the can- 
didates either announce themselves or are nominated 
at private meetings attended by the leading members of 
the community. Outside of New England, however, it 
is usual in the towns and villages for the members of 
each political party to come together in one assembly 
for the selection of their candidates. These meetings 
of party voters are termed caucuses or primaries. The 
word " primary " is, however, the more definite term, as 
the word ''caucus" has, as we shall see, other uses. As 
a rule, party lines are not drawn very distinctly in these 
small local units. 

Party Organization in Cities. — In the cities, party 
lines are apt to be drawn more closely. Each city is 
divided into wards, and each ward into voting precincts. 
In each of these wards there exists a permanent com- 
mittee, which calls together ward caucuses or conven- 



PARTY GOVERNMENT AND MACHINERY 303 

tions in which are selected the delegates for the larger 
convention which is to represent the whole city. In the 
city convention are nominated the party candidates for 
municipal offices, such as the Mayor, Treasurer, Chief 
of Police, Solicitor, Auditor, etc. 

In some cities, however, the system of ''Primary 
Elections" prevails, in which case each party holds an 
election preliminary to the regular one at which each 
voter casts his vote directly for the man whom he 
desires to have nominated, and the one receiving the 
greatest number of votes is declared to be the party's 
nominee, to' be voted for at the regular election by all its 
members. Where one party has a decided majority of 
voters in the city, success at the primary is practically 
equivalent to election, though the legal form of an elec- 
tion must be pursued on election day. 

Where aldermen are elected by districts or wards, 
they are usually nominated in district or ward conven- 
tions. Each party sees to it that no one shall attend or 
participate in its caucuses or primaries except its own 
members, and for this purpose it keeps a list of all 
voters who belong to its ranks. The call for a city 
caucus or primary is issued by the city committee, which 
is usually composed of members of the ward committees 
or of delegates from them. In theory, these committees 
have nothing to do with nominating candidates, but in 
fact they often arrange before the meeting of the con- 
vention a " slate," as it is called, or list of those whom 
they desire to nominate ; and aided by the indifference 
of the rank and file of the voters, they frequently suc- 
ceed in getting their lists accepted. 



304 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

Party Organization in the Counties. — Candidates for 

county officers are nominated in county conventions 
which are called by county committees, and composed 
of delegates selected in conventions of the towns or 
cities within the county. Besides nominating the county 
candidates, the convention selects delegates to the state 
convention, if one is soon to be held, and appoints a 
county committee which is to sit during the ensuing 
year and call the next convention. 

State Party Organization. — The officers usually voted 
for at state elections are the Governor, Lieutenant Gov- 
ernor, Treasurer, Secretary of State, Auditor, Attorney 
General, Superintendent of Education, Surveyor, and 
Judges of the highest state court. Candidates for all 
these positions are selected in a state convention called 
by the State Central Committee and composed of the 
delegates chosen in the county conventions, or, some- 
times, of delegates elected directly in primaries in the 
towns and cities. 

For the election of members of the state legislatures, 
the states are divided into senatorial and representative 
or assembly districts, and in each of these districts 
nominating conventions are held. In some cases the 
counties are taken as the basis of apportionment, each 
county being entitled to a certain number of state Sena- 
tors and Representatives. In other cases the state is 
divided into special districts for this purpose. 

Organization of National Parties. — The only federal 
officials whose offices are elective are the President and 
Vice President and members of Congress. The national 
organization for selecting candidates for the President 



PARTY GOVERNMENT AND MACHINERY 305 

and Vice President and for conducting national cam- 
paigns consists of a National Central Committee and a 
National Nominating Convention. The committee con- 
sists of one delegate from each state. Its duties are 
similar to those of other committees, and consist in the 
management of the campaign and the issuance of the 
call for the National Convention. The State Central 
Committee of the party in each state is officially notified 
when this call is made, and thereupon summons a state 
convention for choosing four delegates at large to be 
sent to the National Convention, and also notifies the 
committees in the different congressional districts of 
the state. These summon congressional district con- 
ventions, each of which selects two delegates for the 
National Convention, besides the alternates, who are to 
take the place of the regular delegates in case for any 
reason any of them are unable to serve. In some states 
the Democrats select all the delegates to the National 
Convention in state conventions. If a state election 
is about to occur, the state officers are nominated and 
the presidential electors and delegates to the National 
Convention are selected at the same time. If not, a 
special state convention is called. The members of the 
state and congressional district conventions are usually 
chosen at primaries in the different cities and towns. 

National Conventions. — The plan for nominating 
candidates for President and Vice President was not 
introduced for many years after the adoption of our 
present Constitution. In the presidential elections of 
1789 and 1792 there was no necessity for regular party 
nominations, as the whole people were practically unan- 
wiL. AM. ciT. — 20 



306 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

imous in favor of George Washington. Likewise in 
1796 it was so well understood that Adams was the 
man desired by the Federalists, and Jefferson by the 
Democrats, that formal nominations were not required. 
But, commencing with 1800, political parties were more 
divided in their choice, and some method was demanded 
by which it might be decided on whom the party should 
unite. From 1800 to 1820 this demand was met by 
nominations made by Congressmen, in caucuses, or 
private meetings of the members of each party. This 
method finally proved unsatisfactory to the country, but 
from 1824 to 1835 no new and better method was 
invented, and nominations were made rather irregu- 
larly, each state legislature proposing the name of its 
favorite. This method of nomination naturally failed 
to unite the voters of the party in all the states on 
one man, and had to be abandoned. After a failure 
to revive nominations for President by congressional 
caucuses, the present method was developed and 
adopted. The introduction of this last plan may fairly 
be said to date from 1840. National Conventions were 
first held in eastern cities, but are now held further 
west, to accommodate the shifting center of popula- 
tion, Chicago being the favorite city. 

The National Convention is composed of delegates 
from all the states. Each state sends twice as many 
delegates as it has representatives in the National 
Senate and House of Representatives, thus making a 
total now of eight hundred and ninety-two. In addition 
to these, the Republicans allow two delegates from each 
of the territories. 



PARTY GOVERNMENT AND MACHINERY 307 

Method of Procedure. — As soon as the state and terri- 
torial delegations arrive in the city, each elects a mem- 
ber for the next National Central Committee, from 
which is chosen an executive committee, which does 
all the work of conducting the campaign. The mem- 
bers of this committee are usually men of wealth, who 
contribute liberally to the campaign fund. 

The business of the National Convention is commenced 
by the chairman of the National Central Committee 
calHng the convention to order. A temporary chairman 
is chosen, who appoints a '' committee on credentials," 
whose duty it is to decide which delegation shall be 
admitted in case two are sent from the same state, 
both claiming admittance as representing the party in 
that state. A "committee on resolutions" is also 
organized to prepare the party platform. The next 
day the permanent chairman is appointed. The plat- 
form is then read and adopted, or amended and 
adopted. There is then an alphabetical roll call of the 
states, and names are proposed and seconded for nomi- 
nation as candidates for President. The average num- 
ber of names proposed is seven or eight, though 
sometimes as many as twelve have been suggested. 
As each man is proposed the delegate presenting his 
name extols him in a laudatory speech, and gives 
reasons why his man will make a strong candidate and 
an able President. Voting then commences. Each 
delegate has one vote. In the Republican convention 
a majority of the whole number of the delegates voting 
for one man is required before a nomination is reached, 
while the Democrats require a two-thirds vote. Some- 



308 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

times a nomination is made on the first ballot, while at 
other times as many as fifty-three ballots have been 
required, as was the case when the Whigs nominated 
Scott. Forty-nine ballots were needed when Pierce 
was nominated by the Democrats. In 1888 Cleveland 
was nominated by the Democrats by acclamation, no vote 
being necessary to show the wishes of the delegates. 
Benjamin Harrison was nominated by the Republicans 
on the eighth ballot. 

A candidate for President having been selected, a 
Vice President is nominated in a similar manner, though 
generally with much less trouble. After the appoint- 
ment of a new National Committee to serve for the 
next four years, the work of the convention is ended. 

The candidates are now set before the people by 
their respective parties. The people do not vote directly 
for them, but, what amounts to the same thing, vote 
for electors who are pledged to vote for them. A 
vigorous campaign of four months follows until election 
day in the first week of November. Each candidate, a 
short time after his nomination, is expected to publish 
a letter of acceptance in which he expresses his full 
confidence and belief in the platform which his party 
has adopted, and outlines somewhat more fully his own 
views, and his future policy if elected. 

Presidential electors are usually chosen, two from each 
congressional district, in district convention, and four 
at large in each state convention, though in some few 
states all of the electors are chosen in state convention. 

Congressional Elections. — For the election of mem- 
bers to the United States House of Representatives, 



PARTY GOVERNMENT AND MACHINERY 309 

each state is divided into as many so-called congres- 
sional districts as it is entitled to representatives, and in 
each of these districts a candidate is selected in a con- 
vention composed of delegates chosen at caucuses or 
primaries in the various towns and cities of the district. 
Call for this convention is issued by the Congressional 
District Committee. In those years in which a presi- 
dential election occurs, these district conventions also 
select, except in a few states, candidates for presidential 
electors and delegates to the National Convention. 

Legislative Caucuses. — Each House of every legis- 
lative body, state and national, has the selection of cer- 
tain of its own officers, such as the Speaker, Chaplain, 
Secretary. These are elected by a majority vote of the 
members, and for the selection of those whom each 
party is to support, caucuses of the members of each 
party are held. Similar caucuses are also often held, 
as has been before said, to decide upon the line of 
conduct to be pursued by a party in legislative pro- 
posals which are expected to come up for consideration. 
The state legislatures have also the important duty 
of electing United States Senators. Here, too, the 
caucus method of nomination is pursued. 

The introduction of the Australian ballot system has 
changed in some places the methods of nomination 
which have been described in this chapter. Under this 
system local candidates may be put in nomination by 
filing with the proper officer a paper signed by a speci- 
fied number of voters asking that this be done. This 
method, however, is seldom used by the larger political 
parties, but only by the smaller independent factions. 



310 UNITED STATES CIVIL GOVERNMENT 

In closing this account of our party organizations and 
their operation, emphasis should again be laid on the 
absolute duty of every citizen to consider his citizenship 
a public office, and the benefits which he derives from 
his life in the state as creating an obligation on his 
part to lend honest assistance toward rendering the 
political life of his community as high and as pure as 
possible. This means his active, intelligent, and dis- 
interested participation in the political affairs of his 
country. As far as possible he is to cooperate with 
that party which he honestly considers to represent the 
best public policies, for in such cooperation his efforts 
will yield the greatest fruit. But where there is no 
party to which he can conscientiously give his alle- 
giance, independence in politics is his duty. 

It is an unfortunate fact that our citizens are more 
apt to take a lively interest in national politics than in 
local affairs ; whereas the latter are far more important 
to them personally, and, in the aggregate, to the coun- 
try at large. It is beyond question that the primaries 
or caucuses in the small local subdivisions constitute 
the most important element in our political machinery. 
Hence, it is in them that honest and intelligent voters 
should, above all, participate. If these are properly 
conducted, not only will the proper local candidates be 
selected and a good tone be given to local politics, but 
the proper delegates will be sent to the conventions 
in the larger districts, and thus the good influence will 
extend to the state and to the nation. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNTIED STATES — 178Ti 



We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect 
union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the com- 
mon defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of 
liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Con- 
stitution for the United States of America. 

ARTICLE 1 

Section 1. All legislative pow^ers herein granted shall be vested in 
a Congress of the United States, M^hich shall consist of a Senate and 
House of Representatives, 

Section 2. 1 The House of Representatives shall be composed of 
members chosen every second year by the people of the several States, 
and the electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for 
electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislature. 

2 No person shall be a representative who shall not have attained to 
the age of twenty-five years, and been seven years a citizen of the United 
States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State in 
which he shall be chosen. 

3 Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the 
several States which may be included within this Union, according to 
their respective numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the 
whole number of free persons, including those bound to service for a term 
of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other per- 
sons.2 The actual enumeration shall be made within three years after 
the first meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every 
subsequent term of ten years, in such manner as they shall by law direct. 
The number of representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty 
thousand, but each State shall have at least one representative ; and until 
such enumeration shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shall be 

1 This reprint of the Constitution exactly follows the text of that in the 
Department of State at Washington, save in the spelling of a few words. 

2 Superseded by the 14th Amendment. (See p. ,325.) 

3" 



312 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 

entitled to choose three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode Island and Provi- 
dence Plantations one, Connecticut five. New York six, New Jersey four, 
Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North 
Carolina five, South Carolina five, and Georgia three. 

4 When vacancies happen in the representation from any State, the 
executive authority thereof shall issue writs of election to fill such 
vacancies. 

5 The House of Representatives shall choose their speaker and other 
officers, and shall have the sole power of impeachment. 

Section 3. 1 The Senate of the United States shall be composed of 
two senators from each State, chosen by the legislature thereof for six 
years ; and each senator shall have one vote. 

2 Immediately after they shall be assembled in consequence of the 
first election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three 
classes. The seats of the senators of the first class shall be vacated at 
the expiration of the second year, of the second class at the expiration of 
the fourth year, and of the third class at the expiration of the sixth year, 
so that one third may be chosen every second year ; and if vacancies 
happen by resignation, or otherwise, during the recess of the legislature 
of any State, the executive thereof may make temporary appointments 
until the next meeting of the legislature, which shall then fill such 
vacancies. 

3 No person shall be a senator who shall not have attained to the age 
of thirty years, and been nine years a citizen of the United States, and 
who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State for which he 
shall be chosen. 

4 The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the 
Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided. 

5 The Senate sliall choose their other officers, and also a president pro 
tempore, in the absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise 
the office of President of the United States. 

6 The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. 
When sitting for that purpose, they shall be on oath or affirmation. 
When the President of the United States is tried, the chief justice shall 
preside : and no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two 
thirds of the members present. 

7 Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than to 
removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of 
honor, trust or profit under the United States : but the party convicted 
shall nevertheless be liable and subject to indictment, trial, judgment and 
punishment, according to law. 

Section 4. 1 The times, places, and manner of holding elections for 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 313 

senators and representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the 
legislature thereof ; but the Congress may at any time by law n\ake or 
alter such regulations, except as to the places of choosing senators. 

2 The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such 
meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by 
law appoint a different day. 

Section 5. 1 Each House shall be the judge of the elections, returns 
and qualifications of its own members, and a majority of each shall con- 
stitute a quorum to do business ; but a smaller number may adjourn from 
day to day, and may be authorized to compel the attendance of absent 
members, in such manner, and under such penalties as each House may 
provide. 

2 Each House may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its 
members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two thirds, 
expel a member. 

3 Each House shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and from time 
to time publish the same, excepting such parts as may in their judgment 
require secrecy; and the yeas and nays of the members of either House 
on any question shall, at the desire of one fifth of those present, be 
entered on the journal. 

4 Neither House, during the session of Congress, shall, without the 
consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other 
place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting. 

Section 6. 1 The senators and representatives shall receive a com- 
pensation for their services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the 
Treasury of the United States. They shall in all cases, except treason, 
felony and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their 
attendance at the session of their respective Houses, and in going to and 
returning from the same ; and for any speech or debate in either House, 
they shall not be questioned in any other place. 

2 No senator or representative shall, during the time for which he 
was elected, be appointed to any civil office under the authority of the 
United States, which shall have been created, or the emoluments whereof 
shall have been increased during such time ; and no person holding any 
office under the United States shall be a member of either House during 
his continuance in office. 

Section 7. 1 All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the 
House of Representatives ; but the Senate may propose or concur with 
amendments as on other bills. 

2 Every bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and 
the Senate, shall, before it become a law, be presented to the President 
of the United States ; if he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall 



314 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 

return it, with his objections to that House in which it shall have origi- 
nated, who shall enter the objections at large on their journal, and proceed 
to reconsider it. If after such reconsideration two thirds of that House 
shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with the objections, 
to the other House, by whicli it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if 
approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become a law. But in all 
such cases the votes of both Houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, 
and the names of the persons voting for and against the bill shall be en- 
tered on the journal of each House respectively. If any bill shall not be 
returned by the President within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it 
shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a law, in like manner 
as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their adjournment prevent 
its return, in which case it shall not be a law. 

3 Every order, resolution, or vote to which the concurrence of the 
Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a ques- 
tion of adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the United 
States ; and before the same shall take effect, shall be approved by him, 
or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two thirds of the Senate 
and House of Representatives, according to the rules and limitations pre- 
scribed in the case of a bill. 

Section 8. 1 The Congress shall have power to lay and collect 
taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the 
common defense and general welfare of the United States ; but all duties, 
imposts and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States ; 

2 To borrow money on the credit of the United States ; 

3 To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several 
States, and with the Indian tribes ; 

4 To establish an uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform laws on 
the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States ; 

5 To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and 
fix the standard of weights and measures ; 

6 To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and 
current coin of the United States ; 

7 To establish post offices and post roads ; 

8 To promote the progress of science and useful arts by securing for 
limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respec- 
tive writings and discoveries ; 

9 To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court ; 

10 To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high 
seas, and offenses against the law of nations; 

11 To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make 
rules concerning captures on land and water j 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 315 

12 To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money to that 
use shall be for a longer term than two years ; 

13 To provide and maintain a navy ; 

14 To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and 
naval forces ; 

15 To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the 
Union, suppress insurrections and repel invasions ; 

16 To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the militia, and 
for governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the 
United States, reserving to the States respectively the appointment of the 
officers, and the authority of training the militia according to the disci- 
pline prescribed by Congress ; 

17 To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever, over such 
district (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of particular 
States and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of the government 
of the United States, ^ and to exercise like authority over all places pur- 
chased by the consent of the legislature of the State in which the same 
shall be, for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dockyards, and 
other needful buildings ; and 

18 To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying 
into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this 
Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department 
or officer thereof. 

Section 9. 1 The migration or importation of such persons as any 
of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be pro- 
hibited by the Congress prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and 
eight, but a tax or duty may be imposed on such importation, not exceed- 
ing ten dollars for each person. 2 

2 The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, 
unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require 
it. 

3 No bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed. 

4 No capitation, or other direct, tax shall be laid, unless in proportion 
to the census or enumeration hereinbefore directed to be taken. 

5 No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any State. 

6 No preference shall be given by any regulation of commerce or reve- 
nue to the ports of one State over those of another: nor shall vessels 
bound to, or from, one State be obliged to enter, clear, or pay duties in 
another. 

1 The District of Columbia, which cemes under these regulations, had not 
then been erected. 

2 See also Article V, p. 320. 



3l6 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 

7 No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in consequence of 
appropriations made by law ; and a regular statement and account of the 
receipts and expenditures of all public money shall be published from time 
to time. 

8 No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States : and no 
person holding any office of profit or trust under them, shall, without the 
consent of the Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, or title, 
of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign State. 

Section lO.i 1 No State shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or con- 
federation ; grant letters of marque and reprisal ; coin money ; emit bills 
of credit ; make anything but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of 
debts ; pass any bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the 
obligation of contracts, or grant any title of nobility. 

2 No State shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay any imposts 
or duties on imports or exports, except what may be absolutely necessary 
for executing its inspection laws : and the net produce of all duties and 
imposts laid by any State on imports or exports, shall be for the use of 
the treasury of the United States ; and all such laws shall be subject to 
the revision and control of the Congress. 

3 No State shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any duty of 
tonnage, keep troops, or ships of war in time of peace, enter into any 
agreement or compact with another State, or with a foreign power, or 
engage in war, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent danger as 
will not admit of delay. 

ARTICLE II 

Section 1. 1 The executive power shall be vested in a President of 
the United States of America. He shall hold his office during the term of 
four years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same 
term, be elected, as follows 

2 Each State shall appoint, in such manner as the legislature thereof 
may direct, a number of electors, equal to the whole number of senators 
and representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress : 
but no senator or representative, or person holding an office of trust or 
profit under the United States, shall be appointed an elector. 

The electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by ballot 
for two persons, of whom one at least shall not be an inhabitant of the 
same State with themselves. And they shall make a list of all the per- 
sons voted for, and of the number of votes for each ; which list they shall 
sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the 

1 See also the 10th Amendment, p. 823. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 317 

United States, directed to the president of the Senate. The president of the 
Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, 
open all the certificates, and the votes shall then be counted. The person 
having the greatest number of votes shall be the President, if such number 
be a majority of the v^^hole number of electors appointed ; and if there be 
more than one who have such majority, and have an equal number of 
votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately choose by 
ballot one of them for President ; and if no person have a majority, then 
from the five highest on the list the said house shall in like manner choose 
the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken 
by States, the representation from each State having one vote ; a quorum 
for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two thirds of 
the States, and a majority of all the States shall be necessary to a choice. 
In every case, after the choice of the President, the person having the 
greatest number of votes of the electors shall be the Vice President. But 
if there should remain two or more who have equal votes, the Senate 
shall choose from them by ballot the Vice President.^ 

3 The Congress may determine the time of choosing the electors, and 
the day on which they shall give their votes ; which day shall be the same 
throughout the United States. 

4 No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United 
States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to 
the office of President ; neither shall any person be eligible to that office 
who shall not have attained to the age of thirty-five years, and been four- 
teen years a resident within the United States. 

5 In case of the removal of the President from office, or of his death, 
resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said 
office, the same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress 
may by law provide for the case of removal, death, resignation, or ina- 
bility, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what officer 
shall then act as President, and such officer shall act accordingly, until 
the disability be removed, or a President shall be elected. 

6 The President shall, at stated times, receive for his services a com- 
pensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the 
period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive 
within that period any other emolument from the United States, or any 
of them. 

7 Before he enter on the execution of his office, he shall take the fol- 
lowing oath or affirmation : — " I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I 
will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and 

1 Superseded by the 12th Amendment. (See p. 324.) 



3l8 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 

will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitu- 
tion of the United States." 

Section 2. 1 The President shall be commander in chief of the 
army and navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several 
States, when called into the actual service of the United States ; he may 
require the opinion, in writing, of the principal oflQcer in each of the 
executive departments, upon any subject relating to the duties of their 
respective offices, and he shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons 
for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment. 

2 He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the 
Senate, to make treaties, provided two thirds of the senators present con- 
cur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of 
the Senate, shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, 
judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United States, 
whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which 
shall be established by law: but the Congress may by law vest the 
appointment of such inferior officers, as they think proper, in the Presi- 
dent alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of departments. 

3 The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may 
happen during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions which 
shall expire at the end of their next session. 

Section 3. He shall from time to time give to the Congress infor- 
mation of the state of the Union, and recommend to their consideration 
such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient ; he may, on 
extraordinary occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in 
case of disagreement between them with respect to the time of adjourn- 
ment, he may adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper ; he 
shall receive ambassadors and other public ministers ; he shall take care 
that the laws be faithfully executed, and shall commission all the officers 
of the United States. 

Section 4. The President, Vice President, and all civil officers of the 
United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and con- 
viction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. 

ARTICLE III 

Section 1. The judicial power of the United States shall be vested 
in one Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may 
from time to time ordain and establish. The judges, both of the Supreme 
and inferior courts, shall hold their offices during good behavior, and 
shall, at stated times, receive for their services, a compensation which 
shall not be diminished during their continuance in office. 

Section 2. 1 The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law and 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 319 

equity, arising under this Constitution, the laws of the United States, 
and treaties made, or which shall be made, under their authority ; — to 
all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls ; — 
to all cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction ; — to controversies to 
which the United States shall be a party ; — to controversies between two 
or more States ; — between a State and citizens of another State ; 1 — be- 
tween citizens of different States, — between citizens of the same State 
claiming lands under grants of different States, and between a State, or 
the citizens thereof, and foreign States, citizens or subjects. 

2 In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and con- 
suls, and those in which a State shall be party, the Supreme Court shall 
have original jurisdiction. In all the other cases before mentioned, the 
Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction, both as to law and to 
fact, with such exceptions, and under such regulations as the Congress 
shall make. 

3 The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall be by 
jury ; and such trial shall be held in the State where the said crimes shall 
have been committed ; but when not committed within any State, the 
trial shall be at such place or places as the Congress may by law have 
directed. 

Section 3. 1 Treason against the United States, shall consist only in 
levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them 
aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the 
testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in 
open court. 

2 The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of treason, 
but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood, or forfeiture 
except during the life of the person attainted. 

ARTICLE IV 

Section 1. Full faith and credit shall be given in each State to the 
public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other State. And 
the Congress may by general laws prescribe the manner in which such 
acts, records and proceedings shall be proved, and the effect thereof. 

Section 2. 1 The citizens of each State shall be entitled to all privi- 
leges and immunities of citizens in the several States. 

2 A person charged in any State with treason, felony, or other crime, 
who shall flee from justice, and be found in another State, shall on de- 
mand of the executive authority of the State from which he fled, be 
delivered up to be removed to the State having jurisdiction of the crime. 

1 See the 11th Amendment, p. ,?24:. 



320 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 

3 No person held to service or labor in one State, under the laws 
thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or regu- 
lation therein, be discharged from such service or labor, but shall be 
delivered up on claim of the party to whom such service or labor may 
be due. 

Section 3. 1 New States may be admitted by the Congress into this 
Union ; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the jurisdic- 
tion of any other State ; nor any State be formed by the junction of two 
or more States, or parts of States, without the consent of the legislatures 
of the States concerned as well as of the Congress. 

2 The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all needful 
rules and regulations respecting the territory or other property belonging 
to the United States ; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so con- 
strued as to prejudice any claims of the United States, or of any particular 
State. • 

Section 4. The United States shall guarantee to every State in this 
Union a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them 
against invasion ; and on application of the legislature, or of the execu- 
tive (when the legislature cannot be convened) against domestic violence. 

ARTICLE V 

The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it 
necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on the 
application of the legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall 
call a convention for proposing amendments, which, in either case, shall 
be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of this Constitution, when 
ratified by the legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by 
conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of 
ratification may be proposed by the Congress ; Provided that no amend- 
ment which may be made prior to the year one thousand eight hundred 
and eight shall in any manner affect the first and fourth clauses in the 
ninth section of the first article ; and that no State, without its consent, 
shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate. 

ARTICLE VI 

1 All debts contracted and engagements entered into, before the 
adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United States 
under this Constitution, as under the Confederation. 

2 This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be 
made in pursuance thereof ; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, 
under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 



321 



land ; and the judges in every State shall be bound thereby, anything in 
the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding. 

3 The senators and representatives before mentioned, and the mem- 
bers of the several State legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, 
both of the United States, and of the several States, shall be bound by 
oath or affirmation to support this Constitution ; but no religious test 
shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under 
the United States. 

ARTICLE VII 

The ratification of the conventions of nine States shall be sufficient for 
the establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the 



Done in Convention by the unanimous consent of the States present the 
seventeenth day of September in the year of our Lord one thousand 
seven hundred and eighty-seven, and of the independence of the United 
States of America the twelfth. In witness whereof we have hereunto 
subscribed our names, 

Go: Washington — 

Presidt. and Deputy from Virginia 



New Hampshire 
John Langdon 
Nicholas Oilman 

Massachusetts 
Nathaniel Gorham 
Rufus King 

Connecticut 
Wm. Saml. Johnson 
Roger Sherman 

New York 
Alexander Hamilton 

Neio Jersey 
Wil : Livingston 
David Brearley 



Wm, Paterson 
Jona: Dayton 

Pennsylvania 
B. Franklin 
Thomas Mifflin 
Robt. Morris 
Geo. Clymer 
Thos. Fitzsimons 
Jared IngersoU 
James Wilson 
Gouv Morris 

Delaware 
Geo : Read 

Gunning Bedford Jun 
John Dickinson 
Richard Bassett 
Jaco : Broom 



1 After the Constitution had been adopted by the Convention it was ratified 
by conventions held in each of the states. 

WIL. AM. CIT. — 21 



322 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 

Maryland South Carolina 

James Mc Henry J. Rutledge, 

Dan of St. Thos Jenifer Charles Cotesworth Pinckney 

Danl. Carroll Charles Pinckney 

Pierce Butler. 
Virginia 

John Blair— Georgia 

James Madison Jr. William Few 

Abr3aldwin 
North Carolina 

Wm. Blount 

Richd. Dobbs Spaight 

Hu Williamson. 

Attest William Jackson Secretary. 



Articles in addition to, and amendment of, the Constitution of the United 
States of America, proposed by Congress, and ratified by the legisla- 
tures of the several States pursuant to the fifth article of the original 
Constitution. 

ARTICLE II 

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or 
prohibiting the free exercise thereof ; or abridging the freedom of speech, 
or of the press ; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to 
petition the government for a redress of grievances. 

ARTICLE II 

A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, 
the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed. 

ARTICLE III 

No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without 
the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be pre- 
scribed by law. 

ARTICLE IV 

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, 
and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be vio- 
lated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by 

1 The first ten Amendments were adopted in 1791. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 323 

oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, 
and the persons or things to be seized. 

ARTICLE V 

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous 
crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in 
cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual 
service in time of war or public danger ; nor shall any person be subject 
for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb ; nor shall 
be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be 
deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall 
private property be taken for public use without just compensation. 

ARTICLE VI 

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a 
speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district 
wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district sliall have 
been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and 
cause of the accusation ; to be confronted with the witnesses against him ; 
to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to 
have the assistance of counsel for his defense. 

ARTICLE VII 

In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed 
twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact 
tried by a jury shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United 
States, than according to the rules of the common law. 

ARTICLE VIII 

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor 
cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. 

ARTICLE IX 

The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be 
construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. 

ARTICLE X 

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor 
prohibited by it to tlie States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to 
the people. 



324 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 



ARTICLE XII 

The judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend 
to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one oi" ihe 
United States by citizens of another State, or by citizens or subjects of 
any foreign State. 

ARTICLE XII 2 

The electors shall meet in tlieir respective States, and vote by ballot 
for President and Vice President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an 
inhabitant of the same State with themselves ; they shall name in their 
ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person 
voted for as Vice President, and they shall make distinct lists of all per- 
sons voted for as President and of all persons voted for as Vice President, 
and of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and 
certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United 
States, directed to the president of the Senate; — The president of the 
Senate shall, in presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, 
open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted ; — The person 
having the greatest number of votes for President shall be the President, 
if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed ; 
and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having the 
highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as 
President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by 
ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be 
taken by States, the representation from each State having one vote ; a 
quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two 
thirds of the States, and a majority of all the States shall be necessary 
to a choice. And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a 
President whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before 
the fourth day of March next following, then the Vice President shall act 
as President, as in the case of the death or other constitutional disability 
of the President. The person having the greatest number of votes as 
Vice President shall be the Vice President, if such number be a majority 
of the whole number of electors appointed, and if no person have a 
majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall 
choose the Vice President ; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two 
thirds of the whole number of senators, and a majority of the whole 
number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally 
ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice Presi- 
dent of the United States. 

1 Adopted in 1798. 2 Adopted in 1804. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 325 



ARTICLE XIII 1 

Section 1. 1 Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as 
puuishnient for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, 
shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their juris- 
diction. 

2 Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate 
legislation. 

ARTICLE XIV 2 

1 All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to 
the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State 
wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which 
shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States ; 
nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without 
due process of law ; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the 
equal protection of the laws. 

2 Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States accord- 
ing to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons 
in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote 
at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice President 
of the United States, representatives in Congress, the executive and judi- 
cial officers of a State, or the members of the legislature thereof, is denied 
to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years 
of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except 
for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation 
therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male 
citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years 
of age in such State. 

8 No person shall be a senator or representative in Congress, or elector 
of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under 
the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an 
oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or 
as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer 
of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have 
engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or 
comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two 
thirds of each House, remove such disability. 

4 The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by 
law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for 
services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. 

1 Adopted in 18G5. 2 Adopted in 1868. 



326 STUDIES ON THE CONSTITUTION 

But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt 
or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the 
United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave ; 
but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void. 

5 The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, 
the provisions of this article. 

ARTICLE XVI 

Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall 
not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account 
of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. 

Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by 
appropriate legislation. 



Adopted iu 1870. 



NDEX 



Absolute, government, 49; monarchy, 68, 69 

Acclamation, Nomination by, 308 

Accounts, Bureau of, 21S 

Adams, John Q., quoted, 65; Election of, 306 

Adjutant General of army, Duties of, 222 

Administrative, Courts, 80; law, 90, 91 

Admiralty Courts, 93 

Admission of territory as a state, 197 

Agricultural College established, 228 

Agriculture, Department of, 59, 60; created, 
143, 215, 216; Organization of Bureaus of, 
236 

Aldermen, Board of, 265 ; Election of, 304 

Alien, defined, 26; and Citizen, distin- 
guished, 27; Naturalized, 28; Rights and 
duties of, 27, 40; and Sedition laws, 149 

Ambassadors, Control of, 37, 43; in diplo- 
matic service, 42; Appointment of, 182, 
208,209; of United States, 219 

Amending, power, 85; clause, 86; a bill, 176 

Amendment, Fourteenth quoted, 28, 200, 
202; Restrictive force governing, 85-87; 
Eleventh, 87, 246; of Articles of Confed- 
eration impossible, 126; Tenth quoted, 
137; Fifteenth quoted, 160, 203; Thir- 
teenth quoted, 200, 202 

Amendments, First ten, 12, 87, 133; Con- 
stitutional, 84,219; Eleventh, 87; Fifth, 
Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, no, in; of state 
Constitutions, 257 

Anarchists, Attitude of, 21 

Animal Industry, Chief of Bureau of, 236 

Annapolis, Constitutional Convention at, 
128; Naval academy at, 224 

Anti-Federalists, Origin of, 131; Arguments 
of, 132 

Anti-slavery attitude of North, 157 

Anti-Trust Act enacted, 190 

Appeal to higher Court, 97, 98, 108; to Su- 
preme Court, 247; Right of, 251 

Appellate jurisdiction, defined, 246, 247; of 
Court of Appeals, 251 

Appointing power of president, 209 

Appropriation, Committee, 176, 177, 276; 
bills of Congress, 276 

Appropriations, for unnecessary purposes, 
185; Methods of, 276-278 

Arbitration, Function of, 41, 42 

Archives and Indexes, Bureau of, 218 

Area of United States, 225 

Aristocracy defined, 71 

Army, President Commander-in-chief of, 
193, 209 

Arraignment defined, 106 



xArrest, Mode of, 104 

Article, I, Section IX of Constitution, in; 
I, Section VIII, 144, 188, 198; I, Section 
1, 159, 160; IV, Section II, 202; II, Sec- 
tion I, 206; III, Section II, 245 

Articles of Confederation, 123; Scheme of 
government under, 124, 125; Defects of, 
125,126; Adoption of, 225 

Assembly in state government, 258 

Assembly districts, Division of states into, 

305 

Assessors, in town government, 262; in 
county government, 263; Duties of, 275 

Assistants, Secretary of State, 211; Secre- 
tary of War, 222; Secretary of Interior, 
224; Commissioner of Patents, 230; Ex- 
aminers of Patents, 230; Attorney Gen- 
eral, 234, 235; Postmaster General, 234; 
Secretary of Agriculture, 236 

Attainder, Bill of, in 

Attorney General, of U. S., 215, 217, 235, 
236; in state government, 259, 260 

Auditor, of Treasury Department, 220, 221; 
of Railroad Accounts, 232; in state gov- 
ernment, 259 

Australian ballot system described, 34, 310 

Authority and liberty, Struggle between, 48 

Autocratic government, defined, 49; dis- 
courages public opinion, 78 

Bail, defined, 104, 105 

Balance of power, between slaveholding 
and non-slaveholding states, 158 

Ballot system, Australian, 34, 309 

Bank currency System of, 294, 295 

Bank notes, Printing of, 222; distinguished 
from treasury notes, 291; not legal ten- 
der, 291 

Bankruptcjr, Congress has power over, 191 

Banks, National, 190, 290; Organization of, 
290; Functions of, 292, 293; Failure of, 
292; Run on. 293 

Baths, Public, State regulations for, 59 

Belknap, William K., Impeachment of, 185 

Bemis, Dr., quoted, 260 

Bill, of complaint defined. 95; of attainder 
defined, in; Passage of, 175, 176, 179; 
of credit defined, 191 

Bill of rights, defined, 88; Constitution con- 
tained no definite, 133; Function of, 257 

Bills, on the Calendar, 179; Improvement 
in drafting of, 187; for raising money, 277 

Board of health. State regulations regard- 
ing. 59 



327 



328 



INDEX 



Body politic defined, 20 

Bonds, Congress may sell, 190; Printing of, 
222 

Boroughs, in England, 118 

Botanist, in Department of Agriculture, 236 

Boundaries, National, 40 

Bridges, Construction of, 223 

Bulletins of Department of Agriculture, 237 ; 
of Department of Labor, 237 

Bureau of Education, established, 231, 232 

Bureau of Engraving and Printing, Super- 
intendent of, 220, 222; Functions of, 240, 
241 

Bureau of Labor, created, 216 

Bureau of Statistics, Chief of, 220, 222 

Bureaus, Creation of, 217; of War Depart- 
ment, 222; of Interior Department, 224; 
of Navy Department, 224 ; of Agricultural 
Department, 236 

Cabinet, Appointment of, 71 ; First, 215, 216; 
Composition and duties of, 216, 217 

Calhoun, Doctrine of, 149 

Campaign fund. Contributions to, 307 

Campaign, Management of political, 299, 
300; for National election, 305, 307 

Candidates, Selection of, 299 

Cantons in France, 118 

Capitation tax, 36, 189 

Cases, at law, 93; in equity, 93 

Caucus, Functions of, 181, 182; defined, 
303; Call for, 304; Delegates chosen at, 
308; Legislative, 309; Nomination by, 
309; Importance of, 310 

Census, Superintendent of, 233 

Challenges defined, 108 

Chaplain, Election of, 309 

Charters of colonies, 256 

Chase, Chief Justice, 152 

Chase, Samuel, Impeachment of, 185 

Checks and balances in government, 81, 82 

Checks, Function of, 293 

Chemist, in Department of Agriculture, 236 | 

Chicago, National Convention at, 307 '. 

Chief of division, 217 

Chief of Section of Vegetable Pathology, 236 

Chinese immigration. Objections to, 18 

Circuit Court, Jurisdiction of. 249 

Circuit Court of Appeals, Composition of, , 
250; Jurisdiction of, 251 

Circuit Judges, 249 

Circuits, Division of districts into, 249 

Circulars, of information of Bureau of Edu- 
cation, 231; of Agriculture Department, j 

^.^.37 ... I 

Citizens, defined, 21, 26; distinguished from 
aliens, 27; of native birth, 28; Classes of, | 
28; Duties of, loi ; Rights of, 201 j 

Citizenship, Loss of, 29; of United States, ' 
200, 201 ; of state, 201 ; not synonymous | 
with suffrage, 202; a public office, 310 I 

Cities, Expenditures of, 278; Party organi- 
zation in, 303 

City, Incorporation of, 262; Growth of, 263, 
264; Duties of Government of, 264; Form 
of government of, 265 ; Problems of gov- 
ernment of, 266-269 

City, council, 265; judges, 265; legislatures, 
265 ; tax, 275 ; conventions, 303 



Civic freedom, defined, 51 

Civil, laws, 45, 92; suits, 250 

Civil Service, Persons employed in, 210; 
Reform, 213, 214; Act, 235; Commission, 
238, 240 

Civil War, Unionist theory decided by, 153; 
Slavery question determined by, 158; 
Expenditures of, 280 

Claims, Bureau of, 218; Court" of, 252 

Clans, Formation of, 13 

Classified service, 210, 213 

Clearing house, Function of, 293, 294 

Clerks, Duties of, 217, 218 

Cloture defined, 181 

Coast and Geodetic Survey, Reports of, 59 

Code, defined, 90 

Coins, Subsidiary, 289; Minor, 289 

Collector, of Customs, 211; of Internal 
Revenue, 211; of Taxes in town govern- 
ment, 262; of Taxes in city government, 
265; Duties of, 275 

Colonial governments, Common features of, 
120 

Colonies, Settlement of, 119; Government 
of, 119, 120; Elements tending to separa- 
tion and union of, 124; Independence of, 
127 ; Northern and Southern distinguished, 
^55 . 

Columbia, District of, 194, 252 

Commerce, Foreign, 126; Interstate, 137, 
138; regulated by Congress, 147, 190; 
Committees on, 176, 177 

Commercial law. Scope of, 92 

Commissary General, Duties of, 222 

Commissioners, Duties of, 96; Interstate 
Commerce, 211; of Patents, 211, 230; of 
Pensions, 211, 229; of Labor Department, 
217; of Customs, 220, 221; of Internal 
Revenue, 220, 221 ; of General Land 
Office, 225, 226; of Indian affairs, 230; of 
Railroads, 232; of Fish and Fisheries, 239 

Committee, of States, 125; Appropriation, 
276; National Central, 305; on creden- 
tials, 307; on resolutions, 307 

Committees, Division of Houses into, 175- 
177; Conference, 176; Privileged, 179; in 
state government, 258 

Common Council, in city government, 265 

Communes in France, 118 

Communism defined, 66 

Compact theory discussed, 154 

Competition, beneficial to trade, 56, 57 

Complainant, defined, 95. 

Compromise of 1850, 158 

Comptroller of Currency, Appointment of, 
211; Duties of, 220, 222 

Confederate Congress, Dissolution of, threat- 
ened, 128 

Confederation, Articles of, 123; Govern- 
ment under, 124, 125; Defects of, 125, 
126; Adoption of, 225 

Conference Committees, Duties of, t^6 

Congress, Majority vote of, 84, 85; First 
Continental, 122 ; Second Continental. 
122; Power of, 126, 143, 144, 147, 188-T90 
Attempts to raise revenue, 127; Threat 
ened dissolution of Confederate, 128 
Organization of, 159; Session of, 173 
Division into Committees of, 174; Work 



INDEX 



329 



done by, 177; Fiftieth, 177, 178; Fifty- 
fourth, 178; Implied powers of, 198; 
Restriction of powers of, 199; Messages 
to, 20S; President may convene extra 
session of, 208; Departments created by, 
215, 216; controls disposal of public lands, 
226; Library of, 241 ; establishes inferior 
federal courts, 249 

Congressional Directory, 164 

Congressional districts, 162 

Congressional district committee, 309 

Congressional elections, 308 

Congressional legislation, 185-187 

Congressional Library, 238 

Congressmen, Salaries of, 172; Abuse of 
powers of, 186 

Constables in town government, 262 

Constitution, defined, 21, 96; Formation of, 
25; of states, 79; of United States, 83. 84; 
Guarantees of, no; Preparation of, 119, 
131; Adoption of, 126, 131; Arguments 
for and against adoption of, 132; Ratifi- 
cation of, 134; a foundation, 143; a com- 
pact between the states, 149; Preamble 
to, 154; Opposing views of character of, 
154; Supreme law of land, 243; State, 
256,. 257 

Constitutional Convention, assembles at 
Annapolis, 128 ; Delegates to, 129 ; 
Washington president of, 129; Proposed 
plans of, 129, 130 

Constitutional, monarchy, 69; amendments, 
84; government, 79-81; law, 90; theory 
of Unionists, 151 

Construction and Repair, Bureau of, 224 

Consul general. Duties of, 220 

Consular, Service, 43, 220; Bureau, 218; 
agents, 220 

Consuls, Judicial functions of, 43, 220; 
Appointment of, 182, 208, 209 

Continental Congress, Power of, 125; 
Character of, 154 

Contract law, Scope of, 50, 92, 137 

Convention, Constitutional, see Constitu- 
tional Conventions; City, 302; County, 
304; District, 304; State, 305, 306; Na- 
tional, Nominating, 305; National, 305-308 

Cooley, Quotations from, 27, 138, 147, 162, 
191, 202 

Copyrights, Congress controls, 192 

Corrupt Practices Acts, 35 

Corruption, Political, 18, 33, 266, 267, 298 

Cotton, Cultivation of, 157 

Cotton gin invented, 157 

Council in territorial government, 196 

Counterfeiting, Congress punishes, igi 

County, in England, 118; Origin of, 261; 
Unit of Government, 261 ; Government of, 
262; Party organization in, 304 

County, Commissioners, 262; tax, 275; 
Conventions, 304 

Courts, Function of, 45; Administrative, 
80; Law, 93; Equity, 93; Maritime or 
admiralty, 93; Probate, 93; Orphans', 
93; Appeal to higher, 97, 98; created by 
Congressional enactments, 143; Inferior 
federal, 244, 249; District, 249, 251; 
Circuit, 249, 251; Circuit, of Appeals, 
250, 251; in state government, 252, 259; 



of Claims, 252; Supreme, see Supreme 

Courts 
Credit, Instruments of, 293, 294; in com- 
mercial and industrial life, 295, 296 
Climes, defined, 4.5, 98, 99; Classification 

of, 103; Prevention of, 112 
Criminal, classes, 18; laws, 45, 50, 90-92, 

113; responsibility, 101-103; procedure, 

104-111; jurisdiction of U. S., 148, 192 
Criminality, Means of lessening, 112 
Criminals, Home condition of, 15; Enforced 

education of, 115; Inherited mental and 

physical defects of, 116 
Crisis, Causes of, 295 
Cross-examination of witness, 96 
Cuba, Annexation of, desired, 158 
Currency, Comptroller of, 211, 220, 222 
Customs, Col.ectors of. 211 ; Commissioners 

of, 220, 221; defined, 273; duties defined, 

273 
Czar, ruler of monarchy, 68 

Damage, defined, 94; Claim for, 99 

Debate in House, Control of, 178, 179 

Debt, Public, 279; National, 280; State, 
280; County, 280; City, 280 

Declaration, in law cases defined, 95 

Declaration of Independence, 154 

Defendant, defined, 95 

Defense and offense, Means for, 23; of 
United States, 188 

Delegates, House of, 125; from Territories, 
161, 197; to State Convention, 302, 304; 
to National Convention, 302, 305, 307 

Democracy, Rise of, 26; defined, 71 

Department, of War, 143, 215, 222 ; Execu- 
tive, 215, 241; of State, created, 215, 216, 
218; Treasury, 220; Navy organized, 224; 
of Interior, 224-234; Post Office, 234; of 
Justice, 235; of Agriculture, 236; of La- 
bor, 237 

Departments, in France, 118; Divisions of 
government into, 159; created by Con- 
gress, 215 ; Organization of, 215-217; 
Officers of, 217 

Depositions, defined, 95 

Despotic Oriental state, 26 

Diplomatic, service, 42, 219; Bureau, 218 

Direct tax, defined, 189 

Disability pension law. Passage of, 229 

District attorneys, 211, 235; judge, 249; 
courts, 249, 250; conventions, 304 

District of Columbia, Congress exercises 
legislation over, 194. 252 

Districts, Judicial, 249: Division of states 
into, 118, 258; Senatorial, 305; Repre- 
sentative, 305; Assembly, 305; Congres- 
sional, 309 

Divisions, Officers of, 217 

Divorce question. Importance of, 15 

Docks, Construction of, 223 

Drafts, Printing of, 222 

Duties (Customs ^ Lack of uniform, 126; 
defined, 188; Uniformity of, 188; Tariff, 
273; Internal Revenue, 274 

Economic influences in development of 

state, 26 
Education, Compulsory, 59; Reports of 



330 



INDEX 



Bureau of, 59, 231; of criminals, 115; 
Superintendent of, 265. 

Educational, influence of popular govern- 
ment, 78; grants, 227 

Elections, of public officials, 74; for repre- 
sentatives, 160, 162; of senators, 166-169, 
310; Contested, 170; Committee on, 177 ; 
of presidential electors, 204 ; Presidential, 
205,308; Mode of, 300; Town, 302: City, 
303; Primary, 303; State, 304; Congres- 
sional. 309 

Electoral College, 204 

Electors, Presidential, 134, 204, 309; for 
Representatives, 160 

Eleventh Amendment, adopted, 87; Pro- 
visions of, 246 

Emancipation Proclamation, 200 

Emperor, ruler of monarchy, 68 

Enabling act, 197 

Engineers, Chief of, 223 

Engraving and Printing, Bureau of, 220, 
221, 240, 241 

Entomologist in Department of Agriculture, 
236 

Enumerated powers, Government of, 136 

Equality necessary for popular government, 

Equipment and recruiting, Bureau of, 224 
Equity, and law, 92; Courts, 93; Cases in, 

94, 95 
Essential duties of state government, 46 
Ethnic influences in development of state, 

26 
Ethnology, Bureau of, founded, 238, 240 
Evidence, Examination of, 105, 106 
Examination of witness, 96 
Examiner of Interferences in patent office, 

230 
Excises, defined, 189 
Executive, function of state, 45; organs of 

government, 45; journal of Senate, 171; 

duties of Senate, 182; power of U. S., 204; 

Departments, 215-241; Service, 2x8; 

of state, 259 ; committees of political 

parties, 301, 302 _ 
Exequaturs to foreign consuls, 219 
Ex post facto law defined, in 
Expenditure, Government, 271, 275-280; 

of Civil War, 280 
Experiment Stations, established, 60, 236; 

Director of, 236 
Explorations under War Department, 223. 
Extra sessions of Congress, 173, 208, 209 
Extradition treaties, Conditions of, 109 

Factories, State intervention in, 54 

Family, described, 14, 15 

Federal, code, 90; form of national govern- 
ment, 117; authority, 125; judiciary, 126. 
242, 244; powers, 133, 136; laws, 148, 
150; idea represented by Senate, 166; 
control of interstate and foreign commerce, 
190; Supreme Court, 190; inferior courts, 
249; taxes, 273; expenditure, 276 

Federal government, 135-251; a govern- 
ment of enumerated powers, 136; Powers 
of, 138, 142; Implied powers of, 145; 
Organs of, 159-252; Seat of, 194; Debt 
of, 280 



Federalist, The, 132 

Federalists, Origin of, 131; Arguments of, 
132 

Felonies, defined, 98, 103 

Fiat Money, defined, 207 

Fifteenth Amendment, quoted, 160; adopted, 
203 

Fifth Article of Constitution, 85 

Fiftieth Congress, Record of, 177, 178 

Fifty-fourth Congress, Record of, 178 

Filibustering defined, 180 

Finance Committee, 176 

Finance, Condition of, 127 

Fire Department in city government, 265 

First, Continental Congress adopts declara- 
tion of rights and grievances, 122; Con- 
gress creates departments, 215 

Fish Commission, Reports of, 59; Duties 
of, 238; Function of, 239 

Fiske, quoted, 272 

Foreign, immigration, 17; commerce, 190; 
relations, 176, 208; mails, Superintend- 
ent of, 234 

Forestry Division, Chief of, 236 

Fortifications, Construction of, 223 

Fourteenth Amendment, quoted, 28, 200, 
202 

Franklin, Benjamin, delegate to Constitu- 
tional Convention, 129 

Free Coinage of Silver, 284-286 

Free delivery system, 235 

Free government, 73 

Freedom, Individual, 48, 49; Political, 48, 
49; Civic, 51 

General Land Office, Commissioner of, 226 

Geographic influence in development of 
state, 26 

Geological Survey, Bureau of, 233 

Gerrymandering, defined, 163 

Gladstone, quoted, 131 

Gold, the unit of value, 283; basis versus 
silver basis, 286; bullion, 288; coin, 288; 
certificates, 288 

Government, defined, 20, 21 ; and state dis- 
tinguished, 21; Rise of varieties of, 26; 
Functions of, 44 ; Executive organs of, 
45; depends on civilization, 47, 48; Abso- 
lute or autocratic, 49; Popular, 49, 72, 
74, 75, 78, 79; Development of, 67; Rep- 
resentative, 72; Free and despotic, dis- 
tinguished, 73; Constitutional, 79, 80; 
Checks and balances in, 81; Local, 117, 
118, 156, 260-265; Colonial, 120; of 
United States (Federal), 135-251; Dis- 
tribution of powers of, 135, 136; of 
enumerated powers, 136; of unenumer- 
ated powers, 136; Powers of national, 
145: state, 151, 253-260; of the people, 
152; Departments of Constitutional, 159; 
Committee, 174 ; of Territories, 196 ; 
Beginnings of, 260, 261; County, 262; 
Expenditures of, 271, 275-280; controls 
creation of money, 287; Party, 301 

Government Printer, 241 

Government Printing Office, 238 

Governmental, control a necessity, 22; 
powers become definite, 24, 25; action, 
53, 62-64; duties, 44, 46 



INDEX 



331 



Governors, Territorial, 211; of state, 259 

Grand jury, Duties of, 105 

Grant, President, fails to secure third term, 

Greenbacks, described, 289 
Guilty, Plea of, 106, 107 
Guizot, quoted, 131 

Habeas corpus. Writ of, in 

Hamilton, Alexander, delegate to Constitu- 
tional Convention, 129; writes for Feder- 
alist, 132; quoted, 242, 243 

Harbors, Improvement of, 190, 223, 277 

Hawaiian Islands, annexation of, 195 

Health officer, in city government, 265 

Hearsay, defined, 96 

Heliograph, Use of, 223 

Henry, Patrick, quoted, 134 

Higher court. Appeal to, 97, 98 

Historical introduction, 1 16-133 

Home, condition of criminals, 15; govern- 
ment, 39 

Homestead laws, Provisions of, 228 

Hot Springs Reservation in Arkansas, 233 

House, of Commons, 70, 71, 73; of Lords, 
70, 73 ; of Delegates in state government, 
258 

House of Representatives, Representation 
in, 130; a legislative body, 159; Compo- 
sition of, 160-164; Journals of, 170, 171; 
originates laws for raising revenue, 172; 
Committees appointed in, 177; Debate 
in, 178, 179; in state government, 258; 
originates bills for raising money, 277 
House Rule, Number Seventeen, 180, 181 
Humphreys, Impeachment of, 185 
Hydrographic Office, Function of, 224 

Identity of race, chief factor of nationality, 
16 

Immigration, Problem of, 17; Chinese, 18; 
of criminal classes, 18; evils, 18 

Impeachment, of officials, 83; Senate has 
power to try, 184; of President, 207; of 
justices, 248; of state officials. 259 

Implied powers of national government, 
145, 198 

Import duties, 188 

Imposts, defined, 188 

Imprisonment, Problems of, 114-116 

Inauguration of President, 205 

Income tax, 228, n. 

Independent Treasury System, 221 

Indian, agents appointed, 211; affairs, 
Commissioner of, 230 

Indians, not granted citizenship, 200; 
Landownership of, 226; Number of, 231 

Indictment, defined, 105, 106 

Indirect tax, defined, 189 

Individual freedom, defined, 48; distin- 
guished from political freedom, 49 

Industrial, life determines views on tariff, 
158, matters, 53, 55 

Inforniation, defined, 105 

Initiative, defined, 268; Objections to, 269 

Injunction, defined, 94 

Insane, cared for by state, 255 

Insect life, Studies of, 237 

Inspector General, Duties of, 222 



Intent, Criminal, 102 

Interest, defined, 283 

Interior, Department of, created, 143, 215, 
216; Organization of, 224-234 

Interior, Secretary of, 224 

Internal Revenue, defined, 189, 274; Com- 
missioner of, 210, 220, 221; Collectors of, 
211 

International, law, 36, 38, 40, 41, 90, 91; 
relations, 37; trade, 38; rights, 39,' 40; 
Bureau of Universal Postal Union, 234 

Interstate commerce. Regulation of, 137; 
Federal control of, 190; Commission es- 
tablished, 190, 238, 239; Commissioners, 
211 
Intervention, Function of, 40; of state in 

factories, 54; of state authority, 57 
Irrigation surveys, 233 

Jackson, Spoils system introduced under, 
240 

Jay, John, writes for Federalist, 132 

Jefferson, Nullification theory of, 149; Elec- 
tion of, 306 

Johnson, Andrew, Impeachment of, 185 

Journals of Senate and House, 170, 171 

Judge Advocate General, Duties of, 223 

Judges, Duties of, 95-97: of Supreme 
Court, 182, 209, 211; of lower federal 
courts, 248; City, 265 

Judicial, function of state, 45; procedure, 
94, 95; powers of Congress, 192; dis- 
tricts, 249 

Judiciary, Independence of, necessary, 77; 
Federal, 126, 242; in territorial govern- 
ment, 196; State, 259 

Judiciary Committees, 176, 177; act passed, 
244 

Jumping bail, defined, 105 

Jurisdiction, of Supreme Court, 245; Origi- 
nal and appellate, defined, 246, 247 

Jury, in law cases, 95; Verdict of, 97; 
Grand, 105; Petit, 107; Duties of, 108 

Justice, Department of, created, 143, 215, 
235 

Justices of Supreme Court, 244, 245, 248 

King, ruler of monarchy, 68; of England, 
70; executive head, 73 

Labor, Department of, 59, 143, 215, 237; 
Committees on, 177; Bureau, created, 
216 

Land, agents, 211; grants, 228, 232; boun- 
ties for military and naval service, 228 

Lands, Public, 225-229; Waste, 233 

Law, defined, 21, 88; Municipal, 37; Inter- 
iiational, 37, 38, 40, 41, 90, 91; versus 
liberty, 50; Contract, 50, 92; Enforce- 
ment of, 76, 77; of the land, 88; Adminis- 
trative, 91; Criminal, 91; Commercial, 
92; Private, 92; and equity, 92; and 
morality distinguished, 100, 101; Igno- 
rance of, 102 

Law, courts, 93; cases, distinguished from 
cases in equity, 94, 95 

Laws, declared by state, 44; Civil, 45; 
Criminal, 45, 50; Property, 50; Contract, 
50; Classification of, 90; Origin of, 90; 



332 



INDEX 



Private, 90; Public, 90; Civil, 92; regu- 
lating domestic regulation, 92; of practice 

and procedure, 92 
Lawsuits, Methods of procedure of, 95 
Legal tender, defined, 285 
Legislative, functions of state, 44; body, 

83; power of President, 208; caucuses, 310 j 
Legislatures, Local, of Colonies, 120 ; 

National, 159-203; State, 168, 257, 258, ] 

269, 270, 310; in territorial government, 

196; City, 265 
Letter, Annual, of Secretary of Treasury, 

276 
Lexington, Battle of, 122 
Liberty, versus authority, 48; versus law, 50 
Librarian of Congress, Duties of, 241 
Libraries, Public, 59 
Library, of Bureau of Education, 232; of 

Congress, 241 
Lieutenant Governor of State, 258, 259 
Life Saving Service, Superintendent of, 220 
Light House Board, Chairman of, 220 
Lighthouses, built by Congress, 147 
Limitations upon federal powers, 198, 199 
Limited monarchy, 69 

Lincoln, President, quoted, 73; Emancipa- 
tion Proclamation of, 200 
Liquor, State regulations regarding, 61 ; 

licenses, 271 
Local government. Duties of, 117, 118; in 

North, 156, in South, 156. 262; described, 

260 265; Expenditures of, 278 
Local taxes. Collection of, 274 
Log-rolling, defined, 186 
Long session of Congress, 173 
Loose Constructionists, Party of, 145 
Lynching, Causes for, 113 

McCulloch vs. Maryland, Case of, 146 

Madison, delegate to Constitutional Con- 
vention, 129; writes for Federalist, 132; 
Nullification theory of, 149 

Magistracy, defined, 20, 21 

Majority, Power of, 180, 181; vote of Con- 
gress, 84, 85 

Manufacturers, Committees on, 177 

Maritime Courts, 93 

Marque and reprisal, Letters of, granted by 
Congress, 193 

Marshall, Chief Justice, quoted, 144, 146, 

Marshals, Appointment of, 211, 235 

Mayor, in City government, 265 

Medicine and Surgery, Bureau of, 224 

Messages to Congress, 2j8 

Microscopist of Depanment of Agriculture, 
236 

Military, Academy at West Point, 223; 
service, I^and bounties for, 228 

Militia, Congress has power to call forth, 
193; regulated by state laws, 194, 254; 
Equipment of, 223; called out by Presi- 
dent. 208 

Miller, Justice, quoted, 244 

Mineral resources of U. S., 233 

Mines, Report of, 233 

Ministers, in diplomatic service, 42; Pub- 
lic, 182; appointed by President, 208, 
209; Foreign, 219 



Minor coins, described, 289 

Minority, representation, 164; Power of, 
180, 181 

Mint, Director of, 220, 222 

Misdemeanors, defined, 45, 99, 103 

Missouri Contest, 157 

Moderator in town government, 262 

Monarchy, defined, 68 ; Absolute, 68 ; 
Limited, 69 

Money, Coinage of, forbidden to states, 
137,191; Paper, 190, 286, 291; Bills for 
raising, 277; Functions of, 281, 282; a 
standard of value, 282 ; Purchasing power 
of, 283, 284; Different forms of, 287-291: 
Fiat, 287; not issued by federal govern- 
ment, 290; loaned to business men, 292 

Money Order Division, Superintendent of. 

Monopolies, Origin of, 56 
Moral influences in development of state, 26 
Morality, Development of, 48; state con- 
trol over, 61; and law, 100, loi 
Morris, Robert, delegate to Constitutional 

Convention, 129 
Municipal, law, 36, qo; problems, 266 
Museum, National, established, 238, 240 

Nation, Formation of, 13; described, 16 

National Census, Reports of, 59 

National government, Federal form of, 117; 
described, 135-251; a government of 
enumerated powers, 136; Powers given 
to, 138, 142; Powers prohibited to, 138; 
Implied powers of, 145; Organs of, 159- 
252; Seal of, 194; Debt of, 280 

National, law, 90; politics, 148, 155; idea 
represented by House, 166; Banks, igo, 
290; Guard, 194, 223; Museum, 241; 
Banking System, 290; campaigns, 305; 
Central Committee, 305, 307; Nominating 
Convention, 305; parties, 305; Conven- 
tions, 306-308; Committee, 309 

Naturalization, defined, 28; Requirements 
for, 28; Congress has power over, 138, 
190, 191 

Naturalized aliens, 28 

Nautical Almanac, Publication of, 224 

Naval, Academy, at Annapolis, 224; Ob- 
servatory, 224; records, 224; service, 228 

Navigation, Commissioner of, 220; Bureau 
of, 224 

Navy, Department of, created, 143, 215, 
216, 224; President commander-in-chief 
of, 193, 209 

Negroes, Problem of, 19; Suffrage of, 31; 
Citizenship conferred on, 202 

Neutral states. Rights and duties of, 41 

New England, Local government in, 261 

Nominating conventions of political parties, 
301, 302 

Nomination, Method of, 306, 307; of candi- 
date for President and Vice President, 30S 

Non-essential functions of state, 51 

North, Attitude of, regarding tariff question, 
158 

North and South, Division in political 
action of, 155 

Northern colonies. Commercial and indus- 
trial character of, 155, 156 



INDEX 



335 



Not guilty, Plea of, io6, 107 
Not-true-bills described, 106 
Notes of National banks, 290, 291 
Nullification, Theory of, 149; Ordinance 
on, 151 ; State, 247 

Observatory, Naval, 224 

Occasional bulletins of Bureau of Educa- 
tion, 231 

Officials, Elections of public, 74 ; Liabilities 
of public, 80; Impeachment of, 83; Ap- 
pointment of, 211 

Ordinance on nullification, 151 

Ordnance, Chief of, 223; Bureau of, 224 

Original jurisdiction, defined, 246, 247; of 
District and Circuit Courts, 250 

Ornithologist in Department of Agriculture, 
236 

Orphans' Courts, 93 

Panics, Causes of, 295, 296 

Paper money, defined, 286; Security for, 
287; issued by national banks, 291 

Pardoning power, of President, 109, 209 ; of 
governor, 109, 259 

Parishes, in England, 118 

Parks, State regulations for, 59 

Parliament, English, Divisions of, 70; 
Power of, 71; Colonies subordinate to, 
121 

Parties, see Political parties. 

Party, machinery described, 300; organiza- 
tion in towns, 302; organization in cities, 
302; organization in states, 304; in coun- 
ties, 304; Organization of national, 304; 
platform, 308 

Passports, Secretary of State grants, 219 

Patent Office, created, 216, 230; Superin- 
tendent of, 230 

Patents, Congress controls, 138, 192; Num- 
ber issued, 230; commissioner of, 211, 230 

Patterson, William, delegate to Constitu- 
tional Convention, 129, 130 

Patriotism, defined, 23 

Paupers, cared for by state, 254; denied 
suffrage, 258 

Paymaster General of War Department, 223 

Peck, Impeachment of, 185 

Penal laws, 45, 50, 90-92, 113 

Pendleton Act passed, 213 

Pension, Agents, 211; law, 229 

Pensions, Unmeritorious, 186; Commis- 
sioner of, 211, 229 

People, Definition of, 21 

Personal property. Law of, 92 

Petit jury, distinguished from grand jury, 
107 

Philadelphia, Constitutional Convention at, 
128 

Pickering, Impeachment of, 185 

Pilot laws, Congress enacts, 190 

Pinckney, delegate to Constitutional Con- 
vention, 129 

Piracies, Congress punishes, 192 

Plaintiff", defined, 94 

Platform, Party. 300 

Pleading, defined, 96 

Pocket veto, defined, 176 

Police, Chief of, 265 



Police force, a deterrent of crime, 112, 113; 
department in city government, 265 

Political, life described, 20; freedom, 48,49; 
corruption, 64, 212. 266, 267; differences, 
148; campaigns, 300 

Political parties. First, inU. S., 131 ; Origin 
and creed of, 141; Principles of, 145; rep- 
resented in committees. 177; Functions 
of, 297, 299; Benefits of, 298; Contest 
between, 299; Elements governing suc- 
cess of, 300; Local, 302; National, 302; 
State, 302 

Politicians, Policy of, 299 

Politics, Corruption of, 18, 33, 266, 267, 298; 
Principles of national, 148, 155; Inde- 
pendence in, 311 

Poll tax, a requirement for registration, 36; 
described, 189 

Polls, Intimidation at, 33 

Pomologist in Department of Agriculture, 
236 

Popular government, defined. 49, 73; Ne- 
cessities for, 74, 75; Difficulties of, 76; 
Superiority of, 78, 79; Progress of, 81 

Population in Northern and Southern col- 
onies, 156 

Postage rates. Reduction of, 235 

Postal, act, 216; Union, Universal, 234; 
telegraph service, 235. 

Postmaster General, a" cabinet officer, 216, 
217. 235; Duties of, 234 

Postmasters, Appointment of, 235 

Post Office Department, created, 143, 215, 
216, 234 

Post offices, Establishment of, prohibited to 
states, 137; Congress establishes, 147, 
191 

Post roads. Congress establishes, 191 

Powers, prohibited to U. S and states, 136, 
138; delegated to U. S., 136, 138; reserved 
to states, 136, 137; Enforcement of, 139; 
Implied, of Congress, 198 

Practice and procedure. Laws of, 92. 

Prayers in trials, defined, 96 

Preamble to Constitution, 154 

Preemption Act, Provisions of, 228 

Presentment, defined, 106 

President of U. S , must be native-born 
citizen, 29; Inauguration of first, 134; 
signs bills, 176; Powers of, 182; com- 
mander-in-chief of army and navy, 193; 
Term of office of, 204; Election of, 204, 
205, 309; Duties of, 207 209; Appoint- 
ments made by, 210, 211 ; Nomination of, 
305, 306, 308 

President, of U. S. Senate, 170; of state 
Senate, 258 

Presidential term, why limited, 133; suc- 
cession, 206 

Primary, defined, 303; Call for, 304; dele- 
gates chosen at, 309: Importance of, 311 

Prime Minister, Appointment of, 71 

Printing and Engraving, Bureau of, 240, 
241 

Private, laws. 90, 92; wrongs, distinguished 
from public wrongs, 98; bill legislation, 
186 

Privileges and Elections, Committees on, 176 

Probate courts, 93, 94 



334 



INDEX 



Process, defined, io6 

Professional politicians, Policy of, 299 

Property, laws, 50; tax, 274, 275 

Property, Real and personal, 92 

Proportional representation, Schemes for, 
165 

Prosecutor, Office of, 105, 106 

Protective tariff policy, 273 

Provisions and Clothing, Bureau of, 224 

Public Documents, Superintendent of, 234 

Public Instruction, Superintendent of, 259 

Public lands. Unappropriated, 197; Acquisi- 
tion of, 225 ; Regulation of, 226, 227 ; Sale 
of, 228, 273; granted to states, 229 

Public, officials, 80; laws, 90; wrongs, dis- 
tinguished from private wrongs, 98; 
school system, maintained by states, 254; 
spirit, 264; debts, 279; opinion, 299, 300 

Published reports, Importance of, 59, 60 

Punishment, for crime, 103; not permitted 
twice for same act, 107; Motives for, and 
justification of, 111-115 

Quarantine laws. Congress enacts, 190 
Quartermaster General, Duties of, 222 
Queen, executive head, 73 
Quorum in Supreme Court, 245 

Race, Identity of, chief factor of nationality, 
16 

Railroads, Congress exercises control over, 
190; Land grants for, 229, 232; Commis- 
sioner of, 232; Abuses of, 238: Statistics 
of, 239; Settlement of complaints against, 

239 
Railway Mail Service, Superintendent of, 

234 

Randolph, Edmund, delegate to Constitu- 
tional Convention, 129 

Ratification, of Constitution, 134; of treaties, 
182 

Reading rooms, 59 

Real property, Law of, 92 

Record, defined, 96 

Rectangular system of survey, 227 

Reed, Speaker, quoted, 229 

Referendum, defined, 268; Objections to, 
269 

Register of Treasury Department, 220, 221 

Registration books, Object of, 35 

Religious toleration guaranteed, 197 

Removal from office, 213 

Repeating, Prevention of, 36 

Reports, Importance of published, 59; of 
National Census, 59 ; of Bureau of Educa- 
tion, 59, 231; of Fish Commission, 59; of 
Coast and Geodetic Survey, 59; of Agri- 
cultural Department, 237; of various 
departments, bureaus, and divisions, 240 

Representation, in legislature, discussed, 
130; Minority, 164, 165 

Representative, democracy, 72; districts, 

305 
Representatives, Qualifications and number 

of, 160, 161; Term of, 162; Privileges of, 

172; serve on Conimittees, 177 
Representatives, House of See House of 

Representatives 
Republic, defined, 72, 73 



Republican form of state governments, 

Responsibility, Criminal, 101-103 

Responsible government, 81 

Revenues, Lack of power to raise, 126; 
Laws governing, 171, 172; Collection of, 
221; of Postal Department, 234; Power 
of collection of, 272; Sources of govern- 
ment, 272, 273; Sources of city, 275; of 
state, 275 

Revised statutes, 90, 171 

Rings, Formation of, 267; Abuses of, 267 

River and Harbor Bills, 185 

Rivers, Improvement of, 190, 223, 277 

Roads, Construction of, 254 ^ 

Rolls and Library, Bureau of, 218 

Rules, Committee on, 177 

Salaries of Congressmen, 172; of Speaker 
of House, 172 

Sanitation, State regulations for, 59 

School district, Formation of, 263 

Schools, Establishment of, 198, 227 

Schouler, quoted, 122 

Seal, Great, of U. S, 218 

Secession, Right of, discussed. 150 

Second Continental Congress, assembles, 
122; a revolutionary body, 123 

Secretaries, of departments, 217; Assistant, 
211; Assistant, of Treasury, 220 

Secretary of Agricultural Department, a 
cabinet officer, 216, 236; of State, in 
national government, 218, 219, 230; of 
Treasury, 221; of War, 223; of Interior, 
224, 233, 234; of State in state govern- 
ment, 259 

Seed Division, Chief of, 236 

Selectmen in town government, 262 

Selfisn instinct. Influence of, 12 

Senate, Representation in, 130; a legislative 
body, 159; Composition of, 166; dis- 
tinguished from House, 166; a continu- 
ous body, 167; Journals of, 170, 171; 
Selection of officers of, 170; Executive 
duties of, 182; confirms appointments, 
182; Sole power of, to try impeachments, 
184; Secret meetings of, 184; confirms 
President's nomination, 211,212; in state 
government, 258, 259 

Senatorial, electoral function, 168, 169; 
courtesy, 212; districts, 305 

Senators of U. S., Election of, 166-169,310; 
Number of, 166; Term of office of, 167; 
Qualifications for, 169,170; Privileges of, 
172 

Senators, State, 258 

Sergeant at Arms, Election of, 310 

Sessions, of Congress, 173; Extra, of Con- 
gress, 208, 209; of Supreme Court, 245; 
of state legislatures, 258 

Sheriff, Duties of, 263 

Short sessions of Congress, 173 

Signal Officer, Chief, 223. 

Silver, Free coinage of, 284-286; Market 

value of, 285 
Silver, basis vs. gold basis, 286; certificates, 
288; dollar, 288; Bill, 289, 290; bullion, 
290 
Slate, defined, 303 



INDEX 



335 



Slavery, Discussion of, 130, 131 ; introduced 
into Southern colonies, 156; Influence 
of, on political life, 157; abolished, 200 

Smithson, James, founds Smithsonian Insti- 
tution, 241 

Smithsonian Institution, founded, 238, 240 

Social, units, II, 14; sentiment, 11; instinct, 
12; aim in lowest civilization, 13; prob- 
lems, 14; interests, 23 

Socialism defined, 65 

Society defined, 11, 20 

Solicitor General, Appointment of, 211; 
Duties of, 235 

South, Division from North in political 
action, 155; Attitude regarding tariff 
question of, 158 

South Carolina's Ordinance on Nullification, 

Southern Colonies, Agricultural character 
of, 155; Slavery in, 156 

Speaker of House, Salary of, 172; Power of, 
177, 179; Election of, 310 

Special leports of Bureau of Education, 231 

Spoils system, introduced, 213; Evils of, 
214; Correction of, 240 

Stamp Act, Repeal of, 122 

Stamp Act Congress, Meeting of, 121, 
122 

State, defined, 20, 88; Essential elements 
of, 21 ; distinguished from government, 
21; Authority of, 21; indispensable, for 
freedom, 22; Origin of, 23; Development 
of, 24; protection of citizens. 39; Rights 
and duties of, 40; Legislative functions of, 
44; Judicial functions of. 45; Executive 
functions of, 45 : Non-essential functions 
of, ti; control in industrial matters, 53; 
authority, 57; intervention in Sunday 
trade, 58; action, 62-64; Duty of, to pre- 
vent crime, 112; no right of appeal, 108; 
Powers denied to, 137, 151; Department 
of, created, 143, 215, 218; laws, 148; 
Power of taxation of, 189, 190; citizen- 
ship, 202; Secretary of. 218, 219, 230; 
military colleges, 228; nullification ren- 
dered unnecessary, 247; Constitutions, 
256, 257; Executive of, 259; Senate, 
259; judiciary, 259; tax, 274, 275; elec- 
tions, 304; party orginization, 304; con- 
vention, 304; Central Committee, 304 

State governments. Essential duties of, 46; 
Power of, 119, 254; Powers prohibited to, 
138, 139; Formation of, 151, 197; Func- 
tion of, 253-260; Form of, 255, 256; Ex- 
penditures of, 277 

State legislature, regulates election of sena- 
tors, 168; Restriction on authority of, 
243; Composition of, 257; Sessions of, 
258; elects U. S. senators, 309 

States, Relations of, to each other, 37 ; Right 
of Nullification of, 149; Perpetual union 
of, 152; Public land granted to, 228, 229; 
Disputes between, 243; Courts of, 252 

States' Rights party. Principles of, 145 

Statistician, Duties of, 236 

Statistics, Bureau of, 218; of railroads pub- 
lished, 239; of fisheries, 239 

Statutes, Revised, 90, 171 

Steam Engineering, Bureau of, 224 



Steamboats, Congress exercises control over, 
190 

Story, Justice, quoted, 120, 242 

Strict, Constructionists, Party of, 145 

Stump speeches, Object of, 300 

Subject, defined, 26 

Subsidary coins, described, 289 

Sub-treasuries, Establishment of, 221 

Succession, Presidential, 206 

Suffrage, a privilege, 30; granted to ne- 
groes, 31, 203; Woman, 31; Exercise of, 
a duty, 33; Rights and restrictions of, 
160, 161; Classes debarred from, 203; 
State determines rights of, 254; Qualifi- 
cations for, 258 

Suit, Institution of, 94 

Sunday trade. State intervention in, 58 

Superintendents, of Mints, 211; of Census, 
233; of Foreign Mails, 234; of Railway 
Mail Service, 234; of Public Documents, 
234; of Money Order Division, 234 

Superior courts of record, in state govern- 
ment, 259 

Supervising, Architect, 220; Inspector Gen- 
eral of steam vessels, 220; Surgeon Gen- 
eral of Marine Hospital Service, 220 

Supreme Court oi Appeals, in state govern- 
ment, 259 

Supreme Court of U. S., Appeal to, 140, 
251; Decision of, 146,151; Constitution- 
ality of state and federal laws determined 
in, 148; Power of, 190; Justices of, 
207, 211, 248; Jurisdiction of, 244-246; 
Changes in structure of, 245; Service of, 
247 

Supreme judge of state, 260 

Surgeon General, Duties of, 222 

Survey, Geological, Bureau of, 233 

Survey, Rectangular system of, 227; Irri- 
gation, 233; Topographical, 233 

Suspension of the rules, 179 

Swiss Postal Administration, 234 

Tariff, Attitude of North and South regard- 
ing, 158; defined, 273; duties defined, 
273; for revenue only. 274 

Tax, Poll or capitation, 36, 189; Direct, 
189; Indirect, 189; defined, 271; Prop- 
erty, 274,275; Income, to meet Spanish 
war expenses, 228, n. 

Taxation, without representation, 121; 
Power of, vested in Congress, 188 ; Stales' 
power of, 189, 190; Equality of, 272 

Taxes, Lack of power to collect, 126; 
States refuse to pay, 127; Federal, classi- 
fied, 273; State, 274; Local, 274; Collec- 
tion of, 272, 274, 275 

Telegraphs, Congress exercises control 
over. 190 

Territorial, element in state development, 
24; governors, 211 

Territories, Control of, 143; Delegates from, 
161; Congress makes rules respecting, 
195; Admission to Union of, 195,197; 
Government of, 196; Unorganized, 196; 
Supervision of, 233 

Territory, Acquired, 195 

Texas, Annexation of, desired, 158: Area 
of, 253, 254 



33^ 



INDEX 



Thirteenth Amendment quoted, 200, 202 I 

Timber Culture Act, Provisions of, 229 j 

Topographical surveys, 233 

Town, in North, 156; a unit of government, • 
261 ; New England, 262 i 

Town, clerk, 262; meeting, 262, 302 

Township, in North, 156; Survey of, 227; 
Origin of, 261; unit of government, 261 

Township, tax, 295; government, 302, 303 

Trade, International, 38 

Transportation, Public regulation regard- 
ing, 54 

Treason, defined, 103, 104 

Treasurer, of U. S., 211, 220, 221; in state 
government, 259; in town government, 
262; in county government, 263; in city 
government, 265 

Treasury, Department of, created, 143, 215; 
Organization of, 220 

Treasury notes, described, 289; distin- 
guished from bank notes, 291 

Treasury, Solicitor of, 220 

Treaties, under Articles of Confederation, 
126; state no power to enter into, 137; 
Ratification of, 182; Negotiation for, 183; 
President negotiates for, 208 ; with foreign 
states. Custodian of, 219 

Trial, New, 97, 98, 108 

Tribal, life, 16; relations, 24 

Tribes, Formation of, 13; described, 16 

True-bills, 106 j 

Trusts, subject to state regulations, 55 

Twelfth Amendment ratified, 87 i 

Unconstitutional law, defined, 83 

Unenumerated powers. Governments of, 
136 I 

Union, Weakness of, 127; Nature of, 148, 
149; Beginning of, according to Unionist 
view, 151; older than states, 154 

Unionists, Constitutional theory of, 151, 

United States, formed, 123; Area of, 134, ' 
225; Population of, 134 

United States, citizenship, 202 ; govern- 
ment, 255; senators, 309; Statutes at 
Large, 171 ; notes, 222 

Universal Postal Union, 234 j 

Unorganized territories. Government of, 196 1 



Vacancy, in representation, 161; in Senate, 

168; in office of President, 206 
Vegetable Pathology, Chief of Section of, 

236 
Verdict, defined, 97, 108 
Veto, defined, 83; Pocket, 176; Passage of 

bill over, 259 
Veto power, of governor, 259; of mayor, 

265 
Vetoing a bill, 176 
Vice President, president of Senate, 170; 

Election of, 205; Nomination of, 304, 305 
Vincent, Professor, quoted, 32 
Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions, 149 
Voting, Qualification for, 18; Restrictions 

of right of, 161 ; for representatives, 165, 

166 
Voting, machines, 36; precincts, 265, 302 

War, Department of, created, 143, 215; Or- 
ganization of, 222 ; Functions of, 223 
War, International law in, 40, 41 ; Expendi- 
tures of Civil, 280 
War power of Congress, 192, 193; power of 
President, 209; Records, 223; Revenue 
Act, 290 
Ward Conventions, Nominations of, 303 
Wards, Cities divided into, 265, 302 
Warrant, defined, 104; Issuing of, 106 
Washington, quoted, 126; President ol 
Constitutional Convention, 129; Inaugu- 
ration of, 134; Precedent established by,,, 
134; Unanimous election of, 306 
Ways and Means, Committees on, 177, 179 
Weather Bureau, Chief of, 236; Publica- 
tions of, 237 
Weights and Measures, Standard of, 191 
West Indies, Trade with, denied, 128 
West Point, Military academy at, 223 
Wharfage laws. Congress enacts, 190 
Wharton, quoted, 40 
Whitney's cotton gin invented, 157 
Wilson, James, delegate to Constitutional 

Convention, 129 
Wilson, Professor Woodrow, quoted, 46 
Woman Suffrage, discussed, 31 
Writ of habeas corpus, described, in 

Yards and Docks, Bureau of, 224 
Yellowstone National Park, 233 



TYPOGKAPHV BY J. S. CU8HIN6 & CO., NORWOOD, 



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OCT 27 1898 



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